Showing papers on "Empowerment published in 2009"

Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative behavior : The moderating role of psychological empowerment

Abstract: Innovative behavior is increasingly important for organizations' survival. Transformational leadership, in contrast to transactional leadership, has been argued to be particularly effective in engendering follower innovative behavior. However, empirical evidence for this relationship is scarce and inconsistent. Addressing this issue, we propose that follower psychological empowerment moderates the relationship of transformational and transactional leadership with follower innovative behavior. In a field study with 230 employees of a government agency in the Netherlands combining multisource ratings, we show that transformational leadership is positively related to innovative behavior only when psychological empowerment is high, whereas transactional leadership has a negative relationship with innovative behavior only under these conditions. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Consumer Empowerment Through Internet-Based Co-creation

Abstract: Cost-efficient and multimedia-rich interaction opportunities offered by the Internet and the existence of online communities have made virtual co-creation a suitable means of creating value and improving the overall success of new products. Information technology enables new forms of producer-consumer collaboration in new product development processes. However, little research exists on consumers' experiences during virtual co-creation tasks. Drawing on the literature on organizational behavior, we introduce the construct of consumer empowerment to describe consumers' perceived influence on product design and decision making. This paper presents the first large-scale empirical study investigating how consumers are empowered through Internet-based co-creation activities. To analyze the impact of applied interaction tools, 727 consumers having taken part in virtual co-creation projects were asked about their experienced tool support, their perceived empowerment, how much they enjoyed the task, and their readiness to participate in future co-creation opportunities. The results show that consumers engaging in co-creation feel more or less empowered. The level of experienced empowerment depends on the design of the applied virtual interaction tool, the related enjoyment of the virtual interaction, the participants' task and product involvement, as well as their creativity and lead-user characteristics. The design of the interaction tool determines to what extent consumers with varying capabilities are able to solve the assigned co-creation task. It determines the consumers' perceived empowerment and experienced enjoyment. Both the levels of perceived empowerment and enjoyment have a strong impact on the consumers' willingness to participate in future virtual new product development projects. These findings contribute to a better understanding of antecedents and consequences of successful consumer co-creation. They provide recommendations on how to design a compelling virtual new product co-creation experience.

How does economic empowerment affect women's risk of intimate partner violence in low and middle income countries? A systematic review of published evidence

Abstract: Objectives To identify whether individual and household economic empowerment is associated with lower intimate partner violence in low and middle income country settings. Methods Systematic PubMed and internet searches. Results Published data from 41 sites were reviewed. Household assets and women's higher education were generally protective. Evidence about women's involvement in income generation and experience of past year violence was mixed, with five finding a protective association and six documenting a risk association. Conclusion At an individual and household level, economic development and poverty reduction may have protective impacts on IPV. Context specific factors influence whether financial autonomy is protective or associated with increased risk. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 6 October 2008. Errors were subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected [17 April 2009].

User-generated content on the internet: an examination of gratifications, civic engagement and psychological empowerment:

Abstract: As they relate to user-generated content on the internet, civic engagement and psychological empowerment have received significant interest in recent years. While past studies have examined online civic participation and political empowerment, the way in which civic engagement offline and content generation online are related to psychological empowerment has not been thoroughly explored. The purpose of this study is to address the roles that gratifications of content generation online (e.g. satisfying recognition needs, cognitive needs, social needs and entertainment needs) and civic engagement offline play in predicting levels of user-generated content on the internet; and how the gratifications of content generation online, civic engagement offline and user-generated content influence the three components of psychological empowerment (i.e. self-efficacy, perceived competence and desire for control). This study reasserts that psychological empowerment can be enhanced by one’s degree of content generation...

Democracy and Expertise: Reorienting Policy Inquiry

Abstract: PART I POLICY EXPERTISE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN THE PUBLIC REALM 1. Between Technical Knowledge and Public Responsibility: Professional Expertise in Critical Perspective 2. Citizen Deliberation and Participatory Governance: Problems of Knowledge and Policy Complexity 3. Citizens and Experts in Deliberative Democracy: From Theory to Experimentation PART II SITUATING THE TECHNICAL IN THE SOCIAL: IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY DELIBERATION 4. The Deliberative-Analytic Policy Inquiry: Postempiricist Practice 5. Technical Knowledge in Public Deliberation: Toward a Constructivist Theory of Contributory Expertise 6. Public Policy as Social Construct: Multiple Meanings in Sustainable Development PART III POLICY EPISTEMICS FOR DELIBERATIVE EMPOWERMENT: STORYLINES, LEARNING, AND PASSIONATE REASON 7. Policy Advise as Storyline: Narrative Knowledge and Expert Practices 8. Transformative Learning Through Deliberation: Social Assumptions and the Tacit Dimension 9. Deliberative Empowerment: The Cultural Politics of Discursive Space 10. Passionate Participants: Rethinking Emotion in Public Deliberation Afterword

Collective Psychological Empowerment as a Model of Social Change: Researching Crowds and Power

Abstract: The issue of psychological empowerment in crowd events has important implications for both theory and practice. Theoretically, the issue throws light on both intergroup conflict and the nature and functions of social identity. Practically, empowerment in collective events can feed into societal change. The study of empowerment therefore tells us something about how the forces pressing for such change might succeed or fail. The present article first outlines some limitations in the conceptualization of both identity and empowerment in previous research on crowd events, before delineating the elaborated social identity model of crowds and power. We then describe recent empirical contributions to the field. These divide into two areas of research: (1) empowerment variables and (2) the dynamics of such empowerment. We finally suggest how psychological empowerment and social change are connected through crowd action. We conclude with some recommendations for practice following from the research described.

Leader-member exchange and empowerment: Direct and interactive effects on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and performance

Abstract: This study examined the moderating impact of empowerment on the relationships between leader–member exchange (LMX) quality and the self-rated outcomes of job satisfaction and turnover intentions, as well as the supervisor-rated outcomes of job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Two samples, with 244 and 158 employees respectively, were used to test our hypotheses. Our results provided evidence that in general, empowerment moderates the relationships between LMX and job outcomes. These findings are important as previous research has only tested these variables as independent predictors, but our results suggest the relationships these constructs have with important consequences are dependent on both variables. Practical implications and directions for future research are offered.

Youth Empowerment and High School Gay-Straight Alliances

Abstract: In the field of positive youth development programs, “empowerment” is used interchangeably with youth activism, leadership, civic participation and self-efficacy. However, few studies have captured what empowerment means to young people in diverse contexts. This article explores how youth define and experience empowerment in youth-led organizations characterized by social justice goals: high school Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). Through focus group interviews, fifteen youth leaders of GSAs from different regions of California explain what they think empowerment means and how they became empowered through their involvement with the GSA. Youth describe three inter-related dimensions of empowerment: personal empowerment, relational empowerment, and strategic empowerment through having and using knowledge. When these three dimensions are experienced in combination, GSA leaders have the potential for individual and collective empowerment as agents of social change at school. By understanding these youth’s perspectives on the meanings of empowerment, this article clarifies the conceptual arena for future studies of socially marginalized youth and of positive youth development.

Access as a policy-relevant concept in low- and middle-income countries

Abstract: Although access to health care is frequently identified as a goal for health care policy, the precise meaning of access to health care often remains unclear. We present a conceptual framework that defines access to health care as the empowerment of an individual to use health care and as a multidimensional concept based on the interaction (or degree of fit) between health care systems and individuals, households, and communities. Three dimensions of access are identified: availability, affordability, and acceptability, through which access can be evaluated directly instead of focusing on utilisation of care as a proxy for access. We present the case for the comprehensive evaluation of health care systems as well as the dimensions of access, and the factors underlying each dimension. Such systemic analyses can inform policy-makers about the 'fit' between needs for health care and receipt of care, and provide the basis for developing policies that promote improvements in the empowerment to use care.

The Past, Present, and Future of Media Literacy Education

Abstract: Media literacy education in the United States is actively focused on the instructional methods and pedagogy of media literacy, integrating theoretical and critical frameworks rising from constructivist learning theory, media studies and cultural studies scholarship This work has arisen from a legacy of media and technology use in education throughout the 20th century and the emergence of cross-disciplinary work at the intersections of scholarly work in media studies and education Reflecting the emergence of a common ground for the field, the Core Principles of Media Literacy Education in the United States was created by a team of scholars and practitioners in 2007 This work reconciles the “protectionist” and “empowerment” wings of the media literacy education community and attempts to counter various misunderstandings among non-specialists Two issues are identified for their potential to impact the future of the field: (1) media literacy’s relationship to the integration of educational technology into the K-12 curriculum and (2) the relationship between media literacy education and the humanities, arts, and sciences

Motivating Students to Engage in Learning: The MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation.

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to present a model of academic motivation that can be used by instructors to design courses that will engage students in learning The model, based on research and theory, consists of five components that an instructor should consider when designing instruction: (1) empowerment, (2) usefulness, (3) success, (4) interest, and (5) caring In this article, I describe the components of the model by discussing the key concepts of the components, summarizing the background research and theories that support the importance of the components, and providing questions, suggestions, and examples that instructors should consider when designing instruction My hope is that novice, as well as experienced, instructors will find this model and the associated suggestions and examples useful as a reference tool to which they can refer when designing instruction

Context matters: the impact of unit leadership and empowerment on nurses' organizational commitment.

Abstract: Objective:The aim of this study was to test a multilevel model linking unit-level leader-member exchange quality and structural empowerment to nurses' psychological empowerment and organizational commitment at the individual level of analysis.Background:Few studies have examined the contextual effec

Innovative behaviour: the effect of structural and psychological empowerment on nurses.

Abstract: Title. Innovative behaviour: the effect of structural and psychological empowerment on nurses. Aim. This paper is a report of a study to investigate the relationship between structural empowerment/psychological empowerment and innovative behaviour. Background. Innovative behaviour is essential for nurses in today’s dynamic healthcare systems. Empowerment has become an increasingly important factor in predicting innovative behaviour. Structural empowerment refers to power based on the employee’s position in the organization, while psychological empowerment consists of the fundamental personal convictions that employees have about their role in the organization. Methods. A cross-sectional correlational survey was conducted in the Netherlands in 2007 with 519 Registered Nurses. The instruments used were the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II, the Psychological Empowerment Instrument and the Questionnaire Innovative Behaviour. Four hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics, bivariate and multiple regression and one-way analysis of variance. Results. Structural and psychological empowerment were statistically significant predictors of innovative behaviour. Informal power and impact were the most relevant determinants of innovative behaviour, the latter the strongest. Psychological empowerment functioned as a mediator between structural empowerment and innovative behaviour. The expected moderating effect of structural empowerment was not proven. Conclusion. Organizations need to create the right conditions to be able to strengthen nurses’ empowerment. Networking is an important skill which should be incorporated in the nursing education. Future research should take into consideration nursing culture and personality traits as determining factors. Replication of this study in another setting and a study examining causality are recommended so that additional empirical evidence may be obtained.

Community management of natural resources in Africa: impacts, experiences and future directions.

Abstract: More than twenty years have passed since community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) rose to prominence in different parts of Africa as a strategy for rural development, local empowerment, and conservation. Led by new ideas about the merits of decentralized, collective resource governance regimes, and creative field experiments such as Zimbabwe’s CAMPFIRE, these community-based approaches evolved in a wide range of ecological, political, and social contexts across Africa. This review provides an unprecedented pan-African synthesis of CBNRM, drawing on multiple authors and a wide range of documented experiences from Southern, Eastern, Western and Central Africa. The review discusses the degree to which CBNRM has met poverty alleviation, economic development and nature conservation objectives. In its concluding chapter, the report suggests a way forward for strengthening CBNRM and addressing key challenges in the years ahead.

Listening to young citizens: the struggle to make real a participatory paradigm in research with young children

Abstract: S Since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in 1991, children's right to have a voice, and to have their opinions heard, has led many providers and practitioners in the field of early years to seek ways to involve children's perspectives in the evaluation and development of practice. Those who value democracy understand that encouraging young children to actively participate has long term implications for participatory citizenship. Researchers in early childhood have also been sensitised to the challenge of inclusive research, in which our youngest children are viewed as active subjects, rather than objects, in a research process that is set in the context of a democratic encounter. The Centre for Research in Early Childhood in Birmingham, England has a strong ethical commitment to including the voices of children as an integral part of all its research and development work. We operate through an ethos of empowerment of all participants, and aim for participatory research pra...

Recovery from schizophrenia and the recovery model.

Abstract: Purpose of reviewThe recovery model refers to subjective experiences of optimism, empowerment and interpersonal support, and to a focus on collaborative treatment approaches, finding productive roles for user/consumers, peer support and reducing stigma. The model is influencing service development a

Rigid Response in an Age of Accountability The Potential of Leadership and Trust

Abstract: Purpose: The No Child Left Behind Act laudably brings social justice and equity issues to the forefront; however, the act’s threat- and sanction-driven methods are not only increasing stress levels but potentially causing a rigid response, especially in the growing population of schools labeled program improvement (PI). Specifically, threat–rigid responses tend to limit options and information flow, constrain decision making, and increase stress. The question then becomes, what can mitigate the organizational effects of perceived threat? This study hypothesizes the following: Trust and leadership dimensions that support empowerment and involvement will predict an educational organization’s ability to minimize a threat–rigid response and flexibly negotiate new demands. Research Methods: This study utilized original instruments to measure threat–rigidity, trust, and leadership. Specifically, teachers and site administrators were surveyed in four districts representing eight schools in PI and six schools in non-PI, to test the hypothesis that the multifaceted construct of trust and leadership has a predictive relationship with threat–rigid response. Data were also collected from focus groups of teachers and from interviews with principals from two schools in PI. Findings: Findings of multiple linear regression models, focus groups, and interviews indicate that the presence of trust and leadership approaches that are participative and inclusive predicted lower levels of threat–rigid response by teachers and administrators in PI schools. Implications for Research and Practice: Results suggest that when predictive factors such as trust, empowerment, and involvement are present, teachers and administrators perceive a less rigid response in schools under sanction from PI. This finding suggests the expanding role of trust as a resource for schools and districts that are negotiating accountability demands. Policy makers may well consider initiatives that move beyond compliance to the building of organizational capacity.

Feminism Seduced: How Global Elites Use Women's Labor and Ideas to Exploit the World

Abstract: In a pioneering reinterpretation of the role of mainstream feminism, Eisenstein shows how the ruling elites of developed countries utilize women's labor and the ideas of women's liberation and empowerment to maintain their economic and political power, both at home and abroad. Her explorations range from the abolition of "welfare as we know it" and the ending of the family wage in the United States to the creation of export-processing zones in the global South that depend on women's "nimble fingers"; and from the championing of microcredit as a path to women's empowerment in the global South to the claim of women's presumed liberation in the West as an ideological weapon in the war on terrorism. Eisenstein challenges activists and intellectuals to recognize that international feminism is at a fateful crossroads, and argues that it is crucial for feminists to throw in their lot with the progressive forces that are seeking alternatives to globalized corporate capitalism.

Empowerment, engagement and perceived effectiveness in nursing work environments: does experience matter?

Abstract: The nursing profession is currently experiencing asevere nursing shortage. With a large cohort of nursesabout to retire, every effort must be made to retainnurses currently within the system and to ensure thatnursing work environments are attractive to newcomersto the profession. High-quality patient care depends ona nursing workforce that is empowered to provide careaccording to professional nursing standards. Numerous

Youth Action Research for Prevention: a multi-level intervention designed to increase efficacy and empowerment among urban youth.

Abstract: Youth Action Research for Prevention (YARP), a federally funded research and demonstration intervention, utilizes youth empowerment as the cornerstone of a multi-level intervention designed to reduce and/or delay onset of drug and sex risk, while increasing individual and collective efficacy and educational expectations. The intervention, located in Hartford Connecticut, served 114 African-Caribbean and Latino high school youth in a community education setting and a matched comparison group of 202 youth from 2001 to 2004. The strategy used in YARP begins with individuals, forges group identity and cohesion, trains youth as a group to use research to understand their community better (formative community ethnography), and then engages them in using the research for social action at multiple levels in community settings (policy, school-based, parental etc.) Engagement in community activism has, in turn, an effect on individual and collective efficacy and individual behavioral change. This approach is unique insofar as it differs from multilevel interventions that create approaches to attack multiple levels simultaneously. We describe the YARP intervention and employ qualitative and quantitative data from the quasi-experimental evaluation study design to assess the way in which the YARP approach empowered individual youth and groups of youth (youth networks) to engage in social action in their schools, communities and at the policy level, which in turn affected their attitudes and behaviors.

Walking the Walk: Portraits in Leadership for Family Engagement in Urban Schools

Abstract: Family and community engagement are increasingly seen as powerful tools for making schools more equitable, culturally responsive, and collaborative. The commitment of school leaders is vital to school-community connections, yet is poorly documented in the literature and insufficiently addressed in train ing for administrators. Many school leaders “talk the talk” of school-family partnerships, but how exactly do they “walk the walk,” given the competing pressures they face in a massive urban district like Los Angeles? This qualitative study offers contextualized portraits of four school leaders notable for their pro active, community-oriented approach. Data focus on the administrators’ role in promoting activities, including an annual conference with elected officials, the Parents as Authors Program, community organizing-style “house meetings” in classrooms, and home visits. Findings suggest these leaders actively pursued family engagement as part of a broader moral commitment to social justice and educational equity for disenfranchised Latino families. Inspired by various family engagement models but distrustful of traditional parent involvement structures in the district, they shaped activities to the needs of their particular communities. Implications for leadership preparation programs are discussed, such as the need for more hands-on experience working with parents and apprenticeships with community-oriented school leaders.

Doing student voice work in higher education: An exploration of the value of participatory methods

Abstract: This paper will review the existing student voice work in higher education and critique its current weaknesses, particularly in relation to conceptualisations of and commitments to participation, transformation and empowerment. It will be argued that the employment of participatory methods in higher education student voice work offers a way to address these weaknesses. The potential of participatory methods is illustrated and discussed using two case examples drawn from one higher education institution in the UK. The first case provides an illustration of what is called ‘transformation of the familiar’, while the second case provides an illustration of empowerment, through recognising the importance of what is not voiced by students, as much as what is voiced. It is concluded that whilst a participatory approach to student voice work in higher education has potential, further work is required in order to evaluate the long‐term impact of projects that use such methods.

New graduate burnout: the impact of professional practice environment, workplace civility, and empowerment.

Abstract: The future of professional nursing depends on finding ways to create high-quality work environments that retain newcomers to the profession. The purpose of this study was to examine the combined effect of supportive professional practice environments, civil working relationships, and empowerment on new graduates' experiences of burnout at work. The results support previous evidence of the importance of working environments that enable new graduates to practice according to professional standards learned in their educational programs. Further, the results provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of workplace conditions on new graduate burnout by demonstrating the additive value of working in collegial work settings in which nurses respected others and refrain from incivility behaviors in their day to day work. Given the current nursing shortage, every effort must be made to ensure that new graduates are exposed to high-quality work environments that engage them with their work.

Social Justice Counseling: Toward the Development of a Fifth Force Among Counseling Paradigms

Abstract: A case is made to consider social justice as a fifth force complementary to the psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, existential-humanistic, and multicultural forces in counseling This article explores how social justice is shifting the counseling paradigm and how the ACA (American Counseling Association) Advocacy Competencies (J A Lewis, M S Arnold, R House, & R L Toporek, 2002) complement this movement Implications are also discussed ********** The counseling profession is in the midst of a transformation Specifically, there is a growing movement within the profession calling on counselors to return to their roots by infusing a social justice perspective into counseling theories, paradigms, and practices (Toporek, Gerstein, Fouad, Roysircar, & Israel, 2006) A social justice perspective in counseling acknowledges issues of power, privilege, and oppression (Fouad, Gerstein, & Toporek, 2006) Moreover, a social justice counseling approach uses social advocacy and activism as a means to address inequitable social, political, and economic conditions that impede on the academic, career, and personal/social development of individuals, families, and communities The belief is that social advocacy is a necessary step to address issues of equity for those who have been marginalized in society This is a position that aligns with the American Counseling Association's (ACA; 2005) ACA Code of Ethics, which states in Section A6a, "when appropriate, counselors advocate at the individual, group, institutional, and societal levels to examine potential barriers and obstacles that inhibit access and/or the growth and development of clients" (p 5) The need to make social justice a clearer presence in the field is primarily fueled by forces such as the continued marginalization of those who live on the fringes of society (L Smith, Baluch, Bernabei, Robohm, & Sheehy, 2003); the growing awareness that well-intentioned counselors are not adequately drawing the connection between oppression and mental health issues (Jacobs, 1994); and the increasing realization that counseling paradigms, which focus solely on the individual without regard for environmental factors, may be limiting (Prilleltensky, 1994) These concerns have led to calls to expand the counselor role to include social justice advocacy (Fouad et al, 2006; Lee & Hipolito-Delgado, 2007) The resurgence of a social justice counseling perspective led Ratts, D'Andrea, and Arredondo (2004) to refer to the profession's attempt to return to its roots as a fifth force in the field Based on this perspective, social justice counseling follows the psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, existential-humanistic, and multicultural counseling forces that exist in the profession Other scholars have also followed suit indicating that social justice counseling is a reemerging force that is shaping how human behavior is explained and the ways in which counseling is currently being practiced (Fouad et al, 2006; Goodman et al, 2004; Lee, 2007) Labeling social justice as a fifth force is not a position shared by everyone For example, S D Smith, Reynolds, and Rovnak (2009) suggested that the social justice counseling movement should be viewed as a "recurring wave" (p 484) because the concepts are not new S D Smith et al further added that this movement needs to be grounded in more research if it is to gain credibility in the field I concur Social justice has been a part of the counseling profession since its inception, and more research needs to be conducted to determine best practices However, classifying social justice as a fifth force is not suggesting that it is a new concept Rather, it has more to do with acknowledging how the social justice perspective has matured since its infancy in the early 1900s Moreover, it is about recognizing the depth, breadth, and widespread impact the social justice perspective is currently having on the counseling profession …