Individual Performance Research Articles

The impact of digital leadership on individual work performance: The interactive role of knowledge sharing behavior: An analytical exploratory study of the opinions of a sample of faculty members in some universities and private colleges in the Middle Euphrates region

هدف البحث الى اختبار ومعرفة الدور الذي تؤديه القيادة الرقمية في أداء العمل الفردي في إطار الدور التفاعلي لسلوك تشارك المعرفة، اذ تتمحور مشكلة البحث في اعتقاد العلماء أن الفيروس COVID-19 قد يكون معنا لعقود أو أكثر، وجمعت البيانات والمعلومات عن العينة المختارة من خلال الاستبانة والتي تعد أداة رئيسة في هذ البحث اذ شملت العينة أعضاء الهياة التدريسية في عدد من الجامعات والكليات الاهلية في منطقة الفرات الأوسط والبالغة عددهم (312) فرداً، ومن اجل دعم العلاقة بين هذه المتغيرات من الناحية النظرية اعتمدت الدراسة في قياس متغير القيادة الرقمية على مقياس يضم خمسة ابعاد (القيادة الرؤيوية، ثقافة التعلم في العصر الرقمي، التميز في الممارسة المهنية، التحسين النظمي، والمواطنة الرقمية)، اما متغير سلوك تشارك المعرفة فقد تم تبني مقياس يضمن من أربعة ابعاد (مساهمات مكتوبة، الاتصالات التنظيمية، التفاعلات الشخصية، ومجتمعات الممارسة)، في حين تبنت الدراسة لقياس أداء العمل الفردي مقياس يضم أربعة ابعاد (أداء المهمة، الأداء السياقي، الأداء التكيفي، وسلوك العمل العكسي)، وقد تم اعتماد المنهج الوصفي التحليلي في عرض وتفسير المعلومات الخاصة بالبحث، ولغرض تحليل البيانات ومعالجتها احصائياً تم استخدام مجموعة من المقاييس الإحصائية الوصفية، ومعامل الارتباط بيرسون، ونمذجة المعادلة الهيكلية، والتحليل المعدل، وقد تم استخدام هذه الأساليب عن طريق البرنامج الاحصائي (Spss.25,Amos.25)، اما أبرز الاستنتاجات هو أن سلوك تشارك المعرفة في بعض الجامعات والكليات الاهلية عينة الدراسة ومن الناحية الميدانية من شأنه ان يعزز تأثير القيادة الرقمية في اداء العمل الفردي، وهذا يعني وجود سلوك تشارك المعرفة ميدانياً إلى جانب القيادة الرقمية من شانه أن يسهم في اداء العمل الفردي في هذه الجامعات الاهلية.

The relationship between thermal comfort, performance, and electroencephalogram during cognitive tests at normal indoor temperatures in summer

Electroencephalograms have been proposed as potential physiological indicators to gauge the thermal comfort and cognitive performance of individuals in indoor environments, yet further experimental validation is required. In this study, a simulated experiment was conducted in a climatic room during summer, with temperatures set at 24 °C, 26 °C, 28 °C, 30 °C, and 32 °C. Twenty participants, attired in typical summer clothing (short sleeves and long pants totaling 0.39 clo), undertook cognitive tests assessing short-term memory and concentration while seated, alongside providing thermal comfort ratings. Electroencephalogram signals were continuously recorded from 14 electrode channels across the brain during the second cognitive test unit, spanning the 70th to 90th minute of experimental exposure. The relative power of electroencephalogram signals was computed and analyzed in conjunction with thermal comfort voting, revealing a significant impact of indoor temperature variations on α-band activity in the occipital lobe, with peak α-band relative power observed at 26 °C. Moreover, the whole-brain α-band relative power was significantly higher in states of thermal comfort compared to discomfort, particularly concentrated in the occipital lobe. Linear correlation analysis between cognitive test results and electroencephalogram signals indicated significant associations between the relative power of whole-brain β, δ, and θ bands and scores from the concentration-focused Flanker test. Channels O1 and P8 emerged as potential candidates for single-channel electroencephalogram signals, offering insights into thermal comfort status and cognitive performance related to concentration.

An empirical study on the influence of new generation employees’ job satisfaction on contextual performance in the energy industry

New generation employees in the energy industry generally suffer from several problems such as poor psychological endurance, lack of professional literacy, excessive mental stress, and low labor enthusiasm, which will affect the employee's individual contextual performance and stability of the labor market. In the context of energy transition, therefore, it is of practical significance to solve their problems in routine work and identify the factors affecting the contextual performance of next generation employees in the energy industry. In this paper, the theoretical model with job satisfaction as an independent variable, organizational commitment as a mediator, the sense of self-efficacy as a moderator, and contextual performance as a dependent variable is established; and several research hypotheses are proposed on the basis of the two-factor theory, psychological contract theory, and self-efficacy theory. The following conclusions are made through the testing of hypotheses based on questionnaire investigation: Job satisfaction of new generation employees in the new energy industry positively affects the contextual performance; organizational commitment plays a mediating role between job satisfaction and contextual performance; the sense of self-efficacy plays a role of moderating job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and contextual performance. There is a mediated moderation effect and regulated mediation effect in the model. These conclusions are of great significance to the healthy development of new generation employees in the energy industry.

Loss of Peers and Individual Worker Performance: Evidence From H-1B Visa Denials

We study how restrictive immigration policies that result in the unexpected loss of coworkers affect the performance of skilled migrants employed in organizations. Specifically, we examine the impact of the loss of team members on their coworkers’ performance in response to the unexpectedly increased denials of extensions of H-1B work visas in the United States beginning in 2017. Losing a team member generally has a positive, albeit economically insignificant, effect on the performance of workers left behind. However, we find that individuals who lost peers of the same ethnic background experience a substantial decrease in their performance. To confirm that our results are not plagued by the presence of unobservable team or individual features that might impact visa denial decisions, we build an instrumental variable that exploits the fixed duration of the H-1B visa. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that our result is driven by workers in small teams, teams working on atypical tasks, and ethnically homogeneous teams. These analyses hint at the fact that ethnic ties may boost individual performance through preferential channels of knowledge and information spillovers. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.17319 .

The influence of telecommuting intensity on employee individual performance in the Chinese context: the mediating role of job crafting and the moderating role of e-leadership

ABSTRACT As the digital economy and internet information surge forward, telecommuting has become a pivotal element in corporate digital transformation. This shift is revolutionising traditional management styles, altering employees’ work dynamics, compelling managers to adapt, and transforming the behaviour and outcomes of enterprise workforces. However, research on the impact of telecommuting intensity on employees’ personal performance in Chinese context is seldom studied at present. In order to explore the ways and effects of telecommuting intensity on employees’ personal performance, based on the theory of resource preservation, combined with the JDC model, this paper examines the effects of telecommuting intensity on employees’ personal performance with job crafting as the mediating variable and e-leadership as the moderating variable. Empirical analysis driven by 1012 validated questionnaires indicates a significant negative correlation between telecommuting intensity and individual performance, with approach-oriented and avoidance-oriented job crafting partially mediating this relationship. E-leadership negatively moderates the impact of telecommuting intensity on job crafting. This research intends to offer valuable insights to managers for enhancing the effective implementation of online telecommuting models and management practices.

Social intuition: behavioral and neurobiological considerations.

Social intuition is instrumental in bringing about successful human interactions, yet its behavioral and neural underpinnings are still poorly understood. We focus in this article on the automatic, involuntary, nature of social intuition, rather than on higher-level cognitive and explicit Theory-of-Mind processes (which contribute to rendering social intuition meaningful in real-life situations). We argue that social-affective implicit learning plays a crucial role in establishing automatic social intuition. These implicit learning processes involve associations between the perception of other's bodily articulations, concurrent events, and the consequences or outcomes in terms of subsequent actions, affective valences and visceral states. The traditional non-social implicit learning paradigms do not allow one to draw conclusions about the role of implicit learning processes in social intuition, as they lack these vital characteristics typically associated with human actions. We introduce a new implicit learning paradigm, which aims to fill these gaps. It targets agile, rapid, social-affective learning processes, involving cue contingencies with a relatively simple structure, unlike the very complex structures that underpin the traditional tasks. The paradigm features matching social and non-social versions, allowing direct comparison. Preliminary data suggest equal performance of TD (typically-developed) and ASC (autism spectrum conditions) groups on the non-social version, but impaired implicit learning in ASC on the social version. We hypothesize that this reflects an anomalous use of implicitly learned affective information in ASC when judging other people. We further argue that the mirror neuron mechanism (MNM), which is part of the Action Observation Network, forms an integral part of the neural substrate for social intuition. In particular as there are indications that the MNM supports action anticipation, and that implicitly learned information can trigger MNM activation, which both seem vital to a social intuition ability. The insights that can be derived from comparing the performances of TD and ASC individuals on (non)social implicit learning tasks, and the implications for the role of MNM activation, are discussed.

A scoping review on what constitutes a good research culture.

The crisis in research culture is well documented, covering issues such as a tendency for quantity over quality, unhealthy competitive environments, and assessment based on publications, journal prestige and funding. In response, research institutions need to assess their own practices to promote and advocate for change in the current research ecosystem. The purpose of the scoping review was to explore ' What does the evidence say about the 'problem' with 'poor' research culture, what are the benefits of 'good' research culture, and what does 'good' look like?' To examine the peer-reviewed and grey literature to explore the interplay between research culture, open research, career paths, recognition and rewards, and equality, diversity, and inclusion, as part of a larger programme of activity for a research institution. A scoping review was undertaken. Six databases were searched along with grey literature. Eligible literature had relevance to academic research institutions, addressed research culture, and were published between January 2017 to May 2022. Evidence was mapped and themed to specific categories. The search strategy, screening and analysis took place between April-May 2022. 1666 titles and abstracts, and 924 full text articles were assessed for eligibility. Of these, 253 articles met the eligibility criteria for inclusion. A purposive sampling of relevant websites was drawn from to complement the review, resulting in 102 records included in the review. Key areas for consideration were identified across the four themes of job security, wellbeing and equality of opportunity, teamwork and interdisciplinary, and research quality and accountability. There are opportunities for research institutions to improve their own practice, however institutional solutions cannot act in isolation. Research institutions and research funders need to work together to build a more sustainable and inclusive research culture that is diverse in nature and supports individuals' well-being, career progression and performance.

Impact of interactive learning elements on personal learning performance in immersive virtual reality for construction safety training

To improve construction safety through proactive prevention strategies, it is essential to leverage virtual reality (VR) training programs that foster active learning through dynamic interaction between VR systems and learners. Addressing this need, this study proposed an interactive immersive VR (IVR)-based construction safety training framework, incorporating four interactive learning elements (ILEs): immediate feedback, basic interaction with objects, assembling objects, and knowledge testing. This study divided sixty trainees into two groups: one experienced the proposed novel interactive IVR-based training approach, while the other underwent traditional, non-interactive IVR-based training. To accurately evaluate the impact of the four ILEs on individual learning performance, this study conducted t-test analyses and utilized machine learning-based SHAP (Shapley Additive exPlanations) analysis to compare the results between both groups. The findings indicated that the proposed method significantly enhanced active learning, positively influencing the sensory and knowledge domains of trainees more effectively than the existing methods. Notably, 'ILE-(1). Immediate feedback' and 'ILE-(2). Basic interaction with objects' were identified as key factors in improving personal learning outcomes during training. This study contributes significantly to the field of management in engineering, demonstrating that interactive IVR-based training can offer a superior learning experience and enhance safety performance, thereby reducing accident rates and creating safer construction sites.

The safety and use of perioperative dexamethasone in the perioperative management of primary sporadic supratentorial meningiomas.

Despite the lack of prospective evidence for the perioperative use of dexamethasone in meningioma surgery, its use is well established in the daily routine of several centers. The present study evaluates the effect of dexamethasone on postoperative complications, peritumoral T2/FLAIR hyperintensity, and progression-free survival in patients with supratentorial meningiomas undergoing resection. A total of 148 patients who underwent resection of a primary sporadic supratentorial meningioma at the authors' institution between 2018 and 2020 were included in this retrospective cohort. Safety criteria were side effects of dexamethasone (e.g. hyperglycemia), surgical morbidities, length of stay, and mortality. The individual Karnofsky Performance Scales (KPS) were evaluated regarding the individual development and the delta of KPS at 3- and 12-months compared to baseline KPS was calculated. Longitudinal assessment of the peritumoral T2-/FLAIR hyperintensity changes was performed. The use of both pre- and postoperative dexamethasone did not influence the incidence rates of wound infections, infarctions, postoperative seizures, pulmonary embolism, postoperative hemorrhage, mortality, length of stay, new-onset hyperglycemia and new neurological deficits. Perioperative Dexamethasone use was associated with an improved Karnofsky performance development at 3- (delta of KPS 3.3 vs. -1.9, p=0.001) and 12-months (delta of KPS 3.8 vs. -1.1, p=0.008) compared to the preoperative Karnofsky performance status. Multivariable analysis revealed that perioperative dexamethasone use enhances the KPS improvement (OR: 3.65, 95% CI: 1.01-13.18, p=0.048). Persistent peritumoral T2/FLAIR hyperintensity changes were observed in 35 cases of 70 patients with available follow-up images and a baseline edema (50.0%). Perioperative dexamethasone use enhanced the reduction of the preoperative peritumoral T2-/FLAIR hyperintensity changes (mean reduction of maximum diameter: 1.8 cm vs. 1.1 cm, p=0.023). Perioperative dexamethasone use was independently associated with a lower risk for persistent peritumoral T2-/FLAIR hyperintensity changes (OR: 3.77, 95% CI: 1.05-13.54, p=0.042) The perioperative use of dexamethasone did not influence the progression-free survival time in Simpson grade I or II resected WHO grade 1 meningiomas (log-rank test: p=0.27). Perioperative dexamethasone use seems to be safe in surgery for primary supratentorial meningiomas. Dexamethasone use might enhance the functionality by reducing postoperative peritumoral T2-/FLAIR hyperintensities. These findings highlight the need for prospective data.

Exploring morphological similarity and randomness in Alzheimer’s disease using adjacent grey matter voxel-based structural analysis

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease is characterized by large-scale structural changes in a specific pattern. Recent studies developed morphological similarity networks constructed by brain regions similar in structural features to represent brain structural organization. However, few studies have used local morphological properties to explore inter-regional structural similarity in Alzheimer’s disease.MethodsHere, we sourced T1-weighted MRI images of 342 cognitively normal participants and 276 individuals with Alzheimer’s disease from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. The relationships of grey matter intensity between adjacent voxels were defined and converted to the structural pattern indices. We conducted the information-based similarity method to evaluate the structural similarity of structural pattern organization between brain regions. Besides, we examined the structural randomness on brain regions. Finally, the relationship between the structural randomness and cognitive performance of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease was assessed by stepwise regression.ResultsCompared to cognitively normal participants, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease showed significant structural pattern changes in the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, and olfactory cortex. Additionally, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease showed that the bilateral insula had decreased inter-regional structural similarity with frontal regions, while the bilateral hippocampus had increased inter-regional structural similarity with temporal and subcortical regions. For the structural randomness, we found significant decreases in the temporal and subcortical areas and significant increases in the occipital and frontal regions. The regression analysis showed that the structural randomness of five brain regions was correlated with the Mini-Mental State Examination scores of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.ConclusionsOur study suggested that individuals with Alzheimer’s disease alter micro-structural patterns and morphological similarity with the insula and hippocampus. Structural randomness of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease changed in temporal, frontal, and occipital brain regions. Morphological similarity and randomness provide valuable insight into brain structural organization in Alzheimer’s disease.

No Object-Location Memory Improvement through Focal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Right Temporoparietal Cortex.

Remembering objects and their associated location (object-location memory; OLM), is a fundamental cognitive function, mediated by cortical and subcortical brain regions. Previously, the combination of OLM training and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) suggested beneficial effects, but the evidence remains heterogeneous. Here, we applied focal tDCS over the right temporoparietal cortex in 52 participants during a two-day OLM training, with anodal tDCS (2 mA, 20 min) or sham (40 s) on the first day. The focal stimulation did not enhance OLM performance on either training day (stimulation effect: -0.09, 95%CI: [-0.19; 0.02], p = 0.08). Higher electric field magnitudes in the target region were not associated with individual performance benefits. Participants with content-related learning strategies showed slightly superior performance compared to participants with position-related strategies. Additionally, training gains were associated with individual verbal learning skills. Consequently, the lack of behavioral benefits through focal tDCS might be due to the involvement of different cognitive processes and brain regions, reflected by participant's learning strategies. Future studies should evaluate whether other brain regions or memory-relevant networks may be involved in the modulation of object-location associations, investigating other target regions, and further exploring individualized stimulation parameters.

Enhancing satisfaction and word of mouth of young mobile banking users through system quality and individual performance

Enhancing satisfaction and word of mouth of young mobile banking users through system quality and individual performance

Effects of Asthma on the Performance of Activities of Daily Living: A Retrospective Study

The study aim was to identify the most problematic self-­reported activities of daily living (ADLs). In a retrospective study, 1935 problematic ADLs were reported by 538 clients with 95% experiencing two or more problematic ADLs. Problematic ADLs were assessed by occupational therapists using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure with walking (67%), household activities (41%), and climbing the stairs (41%) identified as the most prevalent problematic ADLs. Significant but weak associations were found between clinical determinants (e.g. physical, psychosocial) and problematic ADLs. The wide variety of problematic ADLs and the absence of a strong association with clinical determinants emphasizes the need for using individualized interview-based performance measures in clients with asthma.

Rating accuracy, leniency, and rater perceptions when using the RPM and BARS

AbstractResearchers have argued that social‐comparative rating formats hold important psychometric advantages over traditional absolute ratings. We asked 152 participants to observe and assess the videotaped performance of individuals completing a task using a social‐comparative (Relative Percentile Method; RPM) and absolute rating (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale; BARS) formats. After collecting expert ratings on the same set of videos, we calculated accuracy indices and leniency. Additionally, we collected rater perceptions of accuracy and fairness for both formats. Our study revealed that the BARS was perceived as more accurate and fairer than the RPM. However, the RPM was found to be better at combating rater leniency. We discuss the implications of these findings.

Reliability and validity of a novel mobile-based automatic battery of cognitive tests in healthy young Chinese adults

Purpose To evaluate the reliability and validity of a newly developed computerized Automated Battery of Cognitive Tests in healthy individuals without cognitive impairments or psychiatric disorders. Methods From April 20 to July 1, 2023, 142 healthy individuals in Beijing and Tangshan, China were assessed using the Automated Battery of Cognitive Tests. After a 3-week interval, 36 participants were randomly selected for retesting. The assessment also included administration of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status and the Automated Battery of Cognitive Tests to 59 participants. Results The Automated Battery of Cognitive Tests consists of 16 subtests. Internal consistency reliability was 0.75. The test-retest reliability for each factor ranged from 0.337 to 0.850 (p < 0.05). The criterion-related validity, as measured by correlation with the total Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status score, was 0.748 (p < 0.001). The cumulative variance contribution rate is 70.109%. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good model fit. Conclusions The computerized Automated Battery of Cognitive Tests is a cognitive self-assessment tool with good reliability and validity. It can evaluate multiple aspects of cognitive performance in healthy individuals and is suitable for self-administration through remote access via Internet.

Performance: Confirming, refining, and refuting theories

Performance is a central concept in management because it is consistently a critical outcome of interest across levels of analysis and subfields. For example, organizational behavior and human resource management focus on individual performance, and strategic management centers on firm performance. Given the centrality of this construct, it is unsurprising that more than 200 theories of performance have been proposed. We used the CORE model of performance (i.e., Performance [P] = Capacity [C] + Opportunity [O] + Relevant Exchanges [RE]) to offer specific suggestions to confirm, refine, and refute performance theories at the individual and firm levels of analysis. Specifically, we recommend conducting six types of studies: (a) constructive reproducibility studies, (b) literal and constructive replication studies, (c) generalizability studies, (d) tests of competing theories, (d) empirical explorations of theoretical assumptions underlying existing theories, and (e) tests of previously published untested theories or theoretical models. We hope our article will help the management field improve the understanding of one of its most central constructs, not by creating new theories that seemingly offer “novel contributions.” Instead, we suggest improving our understanding of performance more meaningfully by confirming, refining, and refuting already existing performance theories.

Smart network security using advanced ensemble-DDoS attack detection and hybrid JA-SLOA-linked optimal routing-based mitigation

ABSTRACT Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are distributed at a faster rate, and they are considered to be fatal threats over the Internet. Moreover, several deep learning approaches are insufficient to attain the maximum efficiency and appropriate detection due to the complexity and diversity of DDoS attack traffic under fast fast-speed network environment since they are providing with individual performance. Hence, an ensemble learning model is developed for DDoS detection and mitigation with the hybrid optimization algorithm to ensure good detective performance against DDoS attacks. The pre-processed data is fed to the feature extraction process where it is done through the Deep Belief Network (DBN) and Autoencoder techniques for acquiring the deep features. The optimized fusion of deep features takes place using hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm of Adaptive Sound Speed-based Jaya Sea Lion Optimization (ASS-JSLnO). The attack detection is performed by the Improved Ensemble Learning (IEL) approach. Then, the mitigation strategy is applied by the optimal routing and multi-objective function. Finally, the experiments are made to establish the high detection efficacy of the implemented attack detection and mitigation framework.

Using Speculative Design to Understand Preferred Futures for the Design and Use of Tracking Data in U.S. College Sport Teams

US college sports teams are increasingly adopting personal data technologies, such as wearable sensors, with a goal of improving individual and team performance as well as individual safety. These tools can also reinforce the power that coaches hold over student-athletes and compromise student-athletes' needs for privacy and agency. To investigate preferred, and anti-preferred, approaches for navigating this complex sociotechnical challenge, we used a speculative design approach in which student athletes and technology design students developed three videos that portray tensions between student-athletes and coaches around the use of sports tracking technologies. We then shared these videos with 15 participants including student-athletes, coaches, and designers. Drawing on the perspectives of student-athletes, team staff, and designers embedded in the videos and expressed in reaction to the videos, we describe preferences for boundaries on tracking and sharing, how tracking data represent athletes, and for data practices. We also propose design requirements and recommendations for use to better align tracking technologies with these preferences.

A new model for dynamic mapping of effective connectivity in task fMRI

Whole-brain dynamic functional connectivity is a growing area in neuroimaging research, encompassing data-driven methods for investigating how large-scale brain networks dynamically reorganize during resting states. However, this approach has been rarely applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data acquired during task performance. In this study, we first combined the psychophysiological interactions (PPI) and sliding-window methods to analyze dynamic effective connectivity of fMRI data obtained from subjects performing the N-back task within the Human Connectome Project dataset. We then proposed a hypothetical model called Condition Activated Specific Trajectory (CAST) to represent a series of spatiotemporal synchronous changes in significantly activated connections across time windows, which we refer to as a trajectory. Our finding demonstrate that the CAST model outperforms other models in terms of intra-group consistency of individual spatial pattern of PPI connectivity, overall representational ability of temporal variability and hierarchy for individual task performance and cognitive traits. This dynamic view afforded by the CAST model reflects the intrinsic nature of coherent brain activities.

Removal of older males increases extra-pair siring success of yearling males.

In animals, reproductive performance typically improves over time early in life. Several ultimate and proximate mechanisms may contribute to such an age-related improvement and these mechanisms can act in a relative or in an absolute sense. Low performance of young individuals may be the consequence of a comparison or competition with older individuals (relative), or it may be due to specific traits of young individuals and be unrelated to the presence of older competitors (absolute). Here, we perform a test to disentangle whether the effect of age class (yearling or older) on male extra-pair siring success is relative or absolute. Male age is the most consistent predictor of male extra-pair siring success across bird species, yet the mechanisms underlying this pattern are not well understood. Low extra-pair siring success of yearling males may be a consequence of the presence of older ("adult") males (hypothesis 1), because adult males are more successful in intra- and intersexual interactions or because females prefer to copulate with adult males when available (relative preference). Alternatively, low extra-pair siring success of yearlings may be independent of the presence of adult males (hypothesis 2), for example, if yearling males on average invest less in extra-pair behavior or if females avoid them as extra-pair mates, independent of the availability of older males (absolute preference). To distinguish between these 2 hypotheses, we experimentally manipulated the age structure of a nest-box-breeding population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) by removing almost all adult males, and compared patterns of extra-pair paternity in the experimental year with those from the preceding 15 "control" years. Removal of adult males resulted in a substantial increase in the extra-pair siring success of yearling males compared to the "control" years, but did not affect the population-level frequency of extra-pair paternity or its spatial patterns. Our results provide clear evidence that extra-pair siring success of yearlings can increase and that it depends on the presence of older males in the population, indicating a relative effect of age on reproductive performance. These results suggest that older males outcompete yearling males in direct or indirect interactions, in sperm competition or as a result of differences in attractiveness to females.