Showing papers by "DePaul University published in 2001"

The effects of employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover on organizational effectiveness: a unit‐level, longitudinal study

Abstract: This study addresses the issue of whether positive employee attitudes and behaviors influence business outcomes or whether positive business outcomes influence positive employee attitudes and behaviors We hypothesize that employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and employee turnover influence profitability and customer satisfaction Data were gathered from the units of a regional restaurant chain via employee surveys, manager surveys, customer surveys, and organizational records Cross-lagged regression analyses show that employee attitudes and behaviors at Time 1 are related to organizational effectiveness at Time 2 Additional cross-lagged regression analyses show no significant relationship between organizational effectiveness at Time 1 and the employee attitudes and behaviors at Time 2 These results add to the evidence that HR outcomes influence business outcomes, rather than the other way around

Effective personalization based on association rule discovery from web usage data

Abstract: To engage visitors to a Web site at a very early stage (i.e., before registration or authentication), personalization tools must rely primarily on clickstream data captured in Web server logs. The lack of explicit user ratings as well as the sparse nature and the large volume of data in such a setting poses serious challenges to standard collaborative filtering techniques in terms of scalability and performance. Web usage mining techniques such as clustering that rely on offline pattern discovery from user transactions can be used to improve the scalability of collaborative filtering, however, this is often at the cost of reduced recommendation accuracy. In this paper we propose effective and scalable techniques for Web personalization based on association rule discovery from usage data. Through detailed experimental evaluation on real usage data, we show that the proposed methodology can achieve better recommendation effectiveness, while maintaining a computational advantage over direct approaches to collaborative filtering such as the k-nearest-neighbor strategy.

Reflection in Higher Education: A Concept Analysis

Abstract: Despite the widespread adoption of reflective practices across many fields of study, a critical analysis of the concept of reflection and its application within higher education has been lacking. This article provides an examination of several major theoretical approaches to reflection including those of Dewey; Loughran; Mezirow; Seibert and Daudelin; Langer; Boud, Keogh and Walker; and Schon. Commonalties in terminology, definitions, antecedents, context, process, outcomes, and techniques to foster reflection are addressed. The implications of the findings for higher education are explained.

Why Do Option Introductions Depress Stock Prices? A Study of Diminishing Short Sale Constraints

Abstract: Early studies find that option introductions tend to raise the price of underlying stocks. More recent research indicates that post-1980 option introductions are associated with negative abnormal returns in underlying stocks. Other studies document increased short sale activities following option listing. This paper provides evidence that the documented abnormal returns and changes in short interest around option listings are consistent with the mitigation of short sale constraints resulting from the option introduction, and that both the abnormal returns and short interest changes around listing dates can be predicted using ex ante characteristics of the underlying stock.

Broken Promises: Equity Sensitivity as a Moderator Between Psychological Contract Breach and Employee Attitudes and Behavior

Abstract: This study examined the moderating role of equity sensitivity in determining the relationship between psychological contract breach and employees' attitudes and behaviors. Entitled individuals were expected to have greater increases in negative affect toward their organization and greater decreases in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior than benevolent individuals following a breach of extrinsic outcomes (i.e., pay, benefits). Conversely, benevolents were expected to respond more negatively than their entitled counterparts following a breach of intrinsic outcomes (i.e., autonomy, growth). Results supported most of the study's propositions. Practical implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Procrastination as self‐regulation failure of performance: effects of cognitive load, self‐awareness, and time limits on ‘working best under pressure’

Abstract: Effects of cognitive load, objective self-awareness and time limits on the self-regulation of performance speed and accuracy were investigated between procrastinators and non-procrastinators. In experiment 1 chronic procrastinators completed fewer items (slow speed) and made more errors (less accuracy) than non-procrastinators under high but not low cognitive load conditions when the time span was limited and brief. In experiment 2 chronic procrastinators performed slower than non-procrastinators under a 2 second, but not under no limit, 1 second, or 4 second time limit conditions. Chronic procrastinators compared to non-procrastinators also performed more slowly and made more performance errors under objective self-awareness conditions regardless of the length of time. These experiments indicate that chronic procrastinators regulate ineffectively their performance speed and accuracy when they ‘work under pressure’ (defined by high cognitive load, objective self-awareness, and imposed time limitations). Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Natural selection for grazer resistance to toxic cyanobacteria: evolution of phenotypic plasticity?

Abstract: We studied the selection response of the freshwater grazing zooplankter, Daphnia galeata, to increased abundance of cyanobacteria in its environment. Cyanobacteria are a poor-quality and often toxic food. Distinct genotypes of D. galeata were hatched from diapausing eggs extracted from three time horizons in the sediments of Lake Constance, Europe, covering the period 1962 to 1997, a time of change in both the prevalence of planktonic cyanobacteria and levels of phosphorus pollution. We assessed whether the grazers evolved to become more resistant to dietary cyanobacteria by exposing genetically distinct clones to two diets, one composed only of the nutritious green alga, Scenedesmus obliquus (good food), and the other a mixture of S. obliquus and the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa (poor food). Genotype performance was measured as the specific rate of weight gain from neonate to maturity (gj). We evaluated evolutionary change in the Daphnia population using an analysis of reaction norms based on relative (log-transformed) changes in gj. Log(gj) is a measure of the proportional effect of dietary cyanobacteria on other fitness components of theDaphnia phenotype. For comparison, we also analyze absolute (i.e., nontransformed) changes in gj and discuss the interpretations of the two approaches. Statistical results using a general linear model demonstrate a significant effect of genotype (showing differences in gj among genotypes), a significant genotype 3 food-type interaction (showing differences in phenotypic plasticity among genotypes), and, in the case of log-transformed data, a significant sediment-genotype-age3 food-type interaction. The latter shows that phenotypic plasticity evolved over the period studied. Two constraints act on response to selection in the D. galeata-Lake Constance system. First, gj on a diet containing poor food is highly correlated with gj on a diet of good food, thus evolving resistance also meant evolving an increase in gj on both diets. Second, because genotypes with a high gj also grow to a large adult body size, which in turn increases Daphnia vulnerability to fish predation, we suggest that selection only acted to favor genotypes possessing a high potential gj after cyanobacteria became prevalent. The presence of cyanobacteria depressed realized gj and led to animals of small adult body size even if their genotypes had the potential for high gj and large size. With realized gj reduced, genotypes with an inherently high value could be selected even in the presence of predatory fish. The joint action of selection by dietary cyanobacteria and vulnerability to fish predation provides an explanation for the observed evolution of resistance to poor food through reduced phenotypic plasticity.

Relationships with Teachers and Bonds with School: Social Emotional Adjustment Correlates for Children with and without Disabilities.

Abstract: In this investigation, fifth- and sixth-grade children (N= 289) completed a measure to assess aspects of their relationships with teachers and bonds with schools. Children and teachers also completed measures related to children's social and emotional adjustment. Analyses of responses to these measures indicated that students with disabilities had greater dissatisfaction with their relationships with teachers, poorer bonds with school, and perceived higher school danger than did students without disabilities. Comparisons involving students who were receiving services for emotional disturbance (ED), learning disabilities (LD), mild mental retardation (MMR), other health impairments (OHI), and no disabilities indicated that students with ED and students with MMR had poorer affiliation with teachers and greater dissatisfaction with teachers than students without disabilities. Students with ED also had poorer bonds with school than did students without disabilities. Students with LD and students with MMR had significantly higher ratings of perceived school danger than did students without disabilities. Results of correlational analyses indicated that student-teacher relationship and school bonding variables were associated with social and emotional adjustment variables for students with and without disabilities. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Auditors' and Investors' Perceptions of the "Expectation Gap"

Abstract: The auditing “expectation gap” refers to the difference between (1) what the public and other financial statement users perceive auditors' responsibilities to be and (2) what auditors believe their responsibilities entail. The notion of this divergence receives much attention in the accounting literature (i.e., Commission on Auditors' Responsibilities 1978; Guy and Sullivan 1988; AICPA 1993; U.S. Government Accounting Office 1996). Although prior empirical studies encompass certain expectations associated with a range of audit services, these papers often involve the opinions of bankers as the primary user group employed in the research (Nair and Rittenberg 1987; Lowe and Pany 1995). In contrast, this study extends the prior research by directly comparing audit partners' and investors' perceptions of auditors' responsibilities involving various dimensions of the attest function. We conducted the study to determine if an expectation gap currently exists and we find that it does; investors have higher expec...

Probability and Mode of Acquisition Effects on Choices between Hedonic and Utilitarian Options

Abstract: We examine the effects of probability and mode of acquisition on choices between hedonic and utilitarian alternatives. The results suggest that the lower the probability of receiving the selected item, the more likely individuals will be to choose the more hedonic alternative in a choice set. Mode of acquisition (i.e., whether subjects are choosing in a windfall or a standard purchase situation) is also found to affect preferences, even when probability of acquisition is held constant. Hedonic options appear to be more popular as prizes than as purchases, whereas utilitarian options appear to be more popular as purchases than as prizes.

Authenticity by typing for security protocols

Abstract: We propose a new method to check authenticity properties of cryptographic protocols. First, code up the protocol in the spi-calculus of Abadi and Gordon. Second, specify authenticity properties by annotating the code with correspondence assertions in the style of Woo and Lam. Third, figure out types for the keys, nonces, and messages of the protocol. Fourth, check that the spi-calculus code is well-typed according to a novel type and effect system presented in this paper. Our main theorem guarantees that any well-typed protocol is robustly safe, that is, its correspondence assertions are true in the presence of any opponent expressible in spi.

Probability and Mode of Acquisition Effects on Choices Between Hedonic and Utilitarian Options

Abstract: We examine the effects of probability and mode of acquisition on choices between hedonic and utilitarian alternatives. The results suggest that the lower the probability of receiving the selected item, the more likely individuals will be to choose the more hedonic alternative in a choice set. Mode of acquisition (i.e., whether subjects are choosing in a windfall or a standard purchase situation) is also found to affect preferences, even when probability of acquisition is held constant. Hedonic options appear to be more popular as prizes than as purchases, whereas utilitarian options appear to be more popular as purchases than as prizes.

Justice and utility in the classroom: An attributional analysis of the goals of teachers' punishment and intervention strategies.

Abstract: There are a multitude of possible reactions that teachers can have toward students who fall below academic standards. Some of these reactions have utilitarian goals, whereas others are punitive. In this study, the authors investigated these reactions, as well as the situations that determine when these different strategies are likely to be used. Both undergraduates playing the role of teachers (Study 1) and actual high school teachers (Study 2) used attributional information in much the same way to guide their choice of responses to academic failure. Controllable causes of failure give rise to punitive and retributive strategies, whereas lack of controllability elicits utilitarian responses. The stability of the cause moderates teachers' responses to failing students. These attributionally guided interventions are mediated in part by inferences of responsibility, emotional reactions of anger and sympathy, and beliefs in the efficacy of the intervention. The implications of this model are discussed in terms of student motivation and classroom performance. In the public education system, teachers have a considerable amount of freedom to operate their classrooms as they see fit, as long as their system conforms to the guidelines of conduct as mandated by their school district and the law. This leaves teachers with a number of possible interventions for motivating and reprimanding students who fall below their standards of academic achievement. What do teachers do when their students are failing their classes? This is an important issue to address because teachers' reactions to their students can potentially impact students' subsequent motivations, expectations, and behaviors in meaningful ways. In this article, we apply an attributional model of social justice to the intervention decisions that teachers make when dealing with students who do not perform well (see Weiner, Graham, & Reyna, 1997). With this model, we are able to predict whether these interventions are driven by utilitarian or retributive goals. We hope this information will help us to better understand how beliefs about students impact the strategies teachers use as well as the goals teachers have when using these strategies.

Entrepreneurship in China: Characteristics, Attributes, and Family Forces Shaping the Emerging Private Sector:

Abstract: This study profiles new Mainland Chinese entrepreneurs and their enterprises as well as explores the cultural and family forces shaping small- and medium-size enterprise development. The study uncovers entrepreneurial motives, demographic attributes, and the type of businesses being established. Family and enterprise relationships relating to financial investment and employment are also presented. The majority of enterprises were found to be closely held small businesses focused on the retail and technology sectors. The findings suggest that entrepreneurs are motivated by the need for independent-based achievement and continuous learning around a family focus. Family played an active role in enterprise formation and development in China. Entrepreneurs were found to rely on family members both to establish and develop their enterprises. The majority of the entrepreneurs surveyed employed at least one family member on a full-time basis. Entrepreneurs were also found to use family finances as the primary source of start-up capital.

Promises Made, Promises Broken: An Exploration of Employee Attraction and Retention Practices in Small Business

Abstract: Entrepreneurial organizations have undergone substantial workforce changes and transformations during the last two decades in order to compete successfully on a global scale. The ability to attract and retain reliable and competent employees has become a key component in developing an effective and sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of the psychological contract and the types of promises made and communicated by small business organizations to attract and retain their employees. From a sample of 151 employees within small businesses, the results demonstrate that perceived unfulfilled promises can have a considerable impact on workplace attitudes, commitment, and intentions to leave the organization. Implications and recommendations for small businesses as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Lying to the One you Love: The Use of Deception in Romantic Relationships

Abstract: The goal of this research was to explore the use of deception in romantic relationships and relate the use of such behavior to relational outcomes. Three possible explanations underlying the use of deception in romantic relationships were tested. It was expected that deception would be related to the reciprocal exchange of information, the desire to avoid punishment, and individuals' attachment beliefs. Two hundred and fifty-six individuals (128 couples) completed questionnaires regarding their own communicative behaviors, as well as their partners' behavior. Support for all three explanations regarding the use of deception was obtained. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.

Do participation rates change when active consent procedures replace passive consent.

Abstract: Researchers face considerable ambiguity and controversy regarding the issue of informed consent. Decisions about consent procedures can affect study participation rates and prevalence estimates among specific populations. Changing from passive to active parental consent procedures was examined in a case study with an anonymous survey of sixth- through eighth-grade students' substance use. Four types of procedures for obtaining parental consent were examined. Results suggest that certain types of consent procedures can yield high levels of participation. This study also demonstrates that low participation rates with some active consent procedures can cause biases in sample characteristics and outcome data.

Improving the Effectiveness of Collaborative Filtering on Anonymous Web Usage Data

Abstract: Recommender systems based on collaborative filtering usually require real-time comparison of users’ ratings on objects In the context of Web personalization, particularly at the early stages of a visitor’s interaction with the site (ie, before registration or authentication), recommender systems must rely on anonymous clickstream data The lack of explicit user ratings and the shear amount of data in such a setting poses serious challenges to standard collaborative filtering techniques in terms of scalability and performance Offline clustering of users transactions can be used to improve the scalability of collaborative filtering, however, this is often at the cost of reduced recommendation accuracy In this paper we study the impact of various preprocessing techniques applied to clickstream data, such as clustering, normalization, and significance filtering, on collaborative filtering Our experimental results, performed on real usage data, indicate that with proper data preparation, the clustering-based approach to collaborative filtering can achieve dramatic improvements in terms of recommendation effectiveness, while maintaining the computational advantage over the direct approaches such as the k-NearestNeighbor technique

Settling the Score: The Role of Organizational Justice in the Relationship Between Psychological Contract Breach and Anticitizenship Behavior

Abstract: This study investigated the role of psychological contract breach, procedural justice, and interactional justice in influencing employees' anticitizenship behaviors. It was posited that the association between contract breach and these negative employee outcomes would be moderated by perceptions of both procedural and interactional justice. In particular, employees' anticitizenship behaviors are hypothesized to be higher following a breach when both procedural and interactional justice are low. One hundred and sixty-five employees from a variety of organizational settings completed measures of contract breach, procedural justice, and interactional justice whereas their respective supervisors completed a measure of anticitizenship behavior. Results revealed a 3-way interaction between contract breach, procedural justice, and interactional justice on anticitizenship behavior. The nature of the interaction was further investigated through simple slope analyses. Consistent with the study's propositions, anticitizenship behavior was higher following a contract breach when both procedural and interactional justice were low. Theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Oxford house: a review of research and implications for substance abuse recovery and community research.

Abstract: After treatment for substance abuse, whether it is in hospital-based treatment programs, therapeutic communities, or recovery homes, many patients return to former high-risk environments or stressful family situations. Returning to these settings without a network of people to support abstinence increases chances of a relapse. As a consequence, substance abuse recidivism following treatment is high for both men and women. Alternative approaches need to be explored, and there are some promising types of recovery homes. From a public health perspective, a series of studies conducted at DePaul University suggests that one type of recovery home for alcohol abuse recovery has much potential. For example, within this self-help communal living setting, recovering alcoholics were able to maintain employment, thereby reducing their need for government subsidies. Maintaining employment for recovering alcoholics may promote increased personal responsibility, which may impact self-efficacy beliefs. These pilot studies, then, raised both theoretical and practical issues needing further evaluation.

Assessing parenting competence in child protection cases: a clinical practice model.

Abstract: Evaluating parents in the context of possible abuse or neglect involves unique challenges. This paper describes a practice model for conducting clinical evaluations of parents' ability to care for young children (under age 8). Core features of the model include (a) a focus on parenting qualities and the parent-child relationship, (b) a functional approach emphasizing behaviors and skills in everyday performance, and (c) application of a minimal parenting standard. Several factors complicate the assessment task, namely, the absence of universally accepted standards of minimal parenting adequacy, the coercive context of the assessment, the scarcity of appropriate measures, difficulties predicting future behavior, and the likely use of the evaluation in legal proceedings. In the proposed model, the evaluator (a) clarifies specific referral questions in advance; (b) uses a multimethod, multisource, multisession approach; (c) organizes findings in terms of parent-child fit; (d) prepares an objective, behaviorally descriptive report that articulates the logic for the evaluator's clinical opinions regarding the referral questions; and (e) refrains from offering opinions regarding ultimate legal issues. The paper describes requisite skills needed to conduct parental fitness evaluations, sample methods, and a protocol for writing the evaluation report.

Supervisory emotional support and burnout: An explanation of reverse buffering effects.

Abstract: The current operating and economic conditions for organizations have had a substantial impact on employees' work demands and obligations. Businesses are increasingly pressured to make rapid changes to their workforce as the trends toward restructuring and downsizing continue to be an integral part of the economic and employment landscape (Coffey et al., 1994; Hitt, 1998). In some instances, staff reductions created through restructuring and downsizing have resulted in "lean and mean" organizations, which may lead to increased work expectations and longer working hours on the part of the surviving employees (Moskal, 1992). Corresponding with all of these changes, researchers and practitioners have attempted to uncover job and organizational factors that contribute to the employee burnout process (see Cordes and Dougherty, 1993; Kahn and Byosiere, 1992). Over the last two decades, most of the research focus has been on investigating the relationships between specific demands or stressors of the job and adversi ve employee outcomes or strains (for example, burnout), with subsequent consequences for the organization (job dissatisfaction, poor in-role job performance, and intentions to quit). Moreover, research has also focused on those factors that may alleviate the adversive effects of some of these job stressors. Theoretically, at the heart of this study is the relationship between stressors and strains as described by Beehr (1995) in his model illustrative of the occupational stress research program. Work environment stressors, such as role conflict and time pressure, are characteristics of the work that may adversely affect an individual (cause human strains). Burnout is an example of a psychological strain (Beehr et al., 1990; Gaines and Jermier, 1983). Although most researchers agree that burnout is composed of three factors (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment; Cordes and Dougherty, 1993), several authors see the emotional exhaustion component as the main factor (Beehr et al., 1990; Gaines and Jermier, 1983; Maslach, 1982). Emotional exhaustion is a feeling of being emotionally depleted and exhausted by one's work (Maslach and Jackson, 1981). As such, emotional exhaustion might be seen as a rather extreme result of chronic emotional stress (Maslach and Jackson, 1986). Man y researchers (for example, Burke and Greenglass, 1995; Lee and Ashforth, 1993; Wright and Bonett, 1997) have not only argued that emotional exhaustion plays a salient role in the burnout process, but have found emotional exhaustion to be a strong predictor of job and life satisfaction, subsequent job performance, absenteeism, commitment, and turnover intentions. One factor which may alleviate the effects of job stress is the amount of supervisory support an employee receives during stressful events and occurrences (see House, 1981; Kasl and Wells, 1985). That is, once employee stress is recognized and noticed, supervisors can provide the individual employee with both emotional and instrumental support that serves to buffer or reduce the effects that job stressors can have on job-related attitudes and outcomes. Thus, the association that exists between these stressors and adverse employee behaviors is moderated by the employee's perception of supervisory support, both emotional and instrumental, given to him/her through daily interactions in the work environment. Emotional support is often characterized by actively listening and caring about the needs of an employee, whereas instrumental support is often characterized by the behaviors of giving tangible assistance and expertise in completing a job responsibility or task (Kaufmann and Beehr, 1986). However, as asserted by Fenlason and Beehr (1994), the debate over the buffering effects of these types of support has yet to be settled. Across many studies, the results have been inconsistent in investigating the function of support as a buffer between job stressors and burnout. …

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia: Clinical assessment and treatment

Abstract: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are closely related illnesses of uncertain etiology. This article reviews the research literature on these biobehavioral conditions, with an emphasis on explanatory models, clinical evaluation of comorbid psychiatric disorders, assessment of stress factors, pharmacologic and alternative therapies, and cognitive-behavioral treatment studies. Furthermore, clinical protocols suitable for professional practice are presented based on an integration of the authors' clinical observations with published data. The article concludes with the recognition that mental health professionals can offer substantial help to these patients.

The measurement of wisdom: A preliminary effort

Abstract: The Foundational Value Scale (FVS) is a newly developed assessment device to measure the construct of wisdom. Factor analysis of this scale indicated five components: Harmony, Warmth, Intelligence, Nature, and Spiritual. The factors had adequate internal reliability and test–retest reliability. These dimensions were only slightly related to several other constructs (e.g., stress and depression). The FVS was not significantly related to approval motivation. The FVS appears to be a useful scale that taps several wisdom-related dimensions. Better knowledge about wisdom could be potentially useful in understanding topics about which community psychologists have particular interest. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Shame and guilt and their relationship to positive expectations and anger expressiveness.

Abstract: College students (174 females, 91 males) completed measures of shame, guilt, expectations for future success, and styles of anger expression. Significant gender differences were found in proneness for both shame and guilt, with young women exhibiting a greater propensity for shame and guilt than young men. For both females and males, however, shame-proneness was positively related to expressions of inward anger. Among males and females, guilt-proness was negatively related to outward anger, but positively related to anger control. For females, guilt-proness was also negatively related to expectations for future success. Multiple regression analyses indicated that for male and female late adolescents, the best positive predictor of shame-proneness was inward anger. Gender differences emerged in predicting guilt-proneness; greater anger control, lower outward anger, and lower expectations for future success significantly predicted this variable among females.

Decidability of string graphs

Abstract: We show that string graphs can be recognized in nondeterministic exponential time by giving an exponential upper bound on the number of intersections for a drawing realizing the string graph in the plane. This upper bound confirms a conjecture by Kratochv\'{\i}l and Matou\v{s}ek~\cite{KM91} and settles the long-standing open problem of the decidability of string graph recognition (Sinden~\cite{S66}, Graham~\cite{G76}). Finally we show how to apply the result to solve another old open problem: deciding the existence of Euler diagrams, a central problem of topological inference (Grigni, Papadias, Papadimitriou~\cite{GPP95}).