Personal Reward Research Articles

The Down Syndrome Advantage: Fact or Fiction?

The "Down syndrome advantage" is the popular conception that children with Down syndrome are easier to rear than children with other developmental disabilities. We assessed whether mothers of children with developmental disabilities would demonstrate a consistent Down syndrome advantage as their children aged from 12 to 18 years. Results did not reveal significant differences between mothers of children with Down syndrome and mothers of children with other developmental disabilities on most maternal functioning variables. Although the prior group reported a consistent advantage in terms of personal reward and subjective well-being, these diagnostic group differences disappeared when maternal age and child adaptive behavior were controlled. We concluded that these variables may help to explain the Down syndrome advantage.

Supplementary Stipends for Faculty Assuming Administrative Roles

American higher education has developed a practice of extending a salary supplement to faculty members who assume administrative responsibilities at a number of levels, especially department chairs and decanal roles other than the dean. This presumably is in recognition of the assumption that the individual is either taking on expanded or enhanced responsibilities or that the salary supplement will be necessary to attract the person to assume the role, possibly giving up some other activity he or she would prefer. But are these inducements appropriate and consistent with what is trying to be accomplished? Here are some thoughts on the practice that may provide a different perspective to consider. First, if where we allocate our institutional budgets or other resources is truly a reflection of what we value, does such action indicate that we value administrative activities more than the traditional academic functions of teaching, scholarship, and service? Allocation of scarce resources to this use means they will not be available to be applied to more core functions of the academy. Certainly administration is a necessary adjunct to support our mainstream activities of teaching, scholarship, and service. One colleague may agree to take on those responsibilities so others are spared from being diverted from their main academic goals. But it should always be borne in mind that administration is to buttress our efforts, not to supplant them as our main objectives. Second, does availability of administrative stipends encourage some to eschew traditional academic functions to move into administrative positions? We should not be providing a financial incentive for faculty members to eschew teaching and research. We lament when industry or other pharmacy organization recruits an outstanding or promising faculty member away from us, viewing that as a blow to the academic enterprise in which we are engaged. Third, does the fact that one has an administrative stipend encourage him or her to stay in the position after getting burned out or otherwise losing enthusiasm for the activities (eg, “My kids are in college now and I need the extra money” or “I really want to buy that place at the lake so I'll persist in this administrative role despite really disliking it”)? Or does the stipend make the faculty-cum-administrator more likely to go along with a bad idea from “on high” because not to do so would jeopardize the personal financial flow? One's effectiveness as an administrator can be enhanced by the knowledge he or she can return to a traditional faculty role with no reduction in compensation. This degree of independence can enhance one's effectiveness as an administrator, especially when it comes to taking unpopular positions, disliked by either institutional administrators or interest groups on campus. It makes doing what is right much easier. I have personally observed faculty members in administrative roles go along with a bad decision because their kids were in an expensive college and the extra money from the administrative stipend was needed to keep them there. To jeopardize their administrative positions would be to endanger their children's futures. Some may advance the perspective that, if no administrative supplement were forthcoming, those with the best potential as administrators may not be attracted to these sometimes challenging positions. If no administrative stipend were available what would attract a skilled person to take on these responsibilities? Here is a potential list of attractive features: Personal reward and growth from overcoming challenges and obstacles; Self-satisfaction from advancing the program or institution; Enjoying a change of pace from traditional activities; Accepting opportunities to learn more about the institution and about oneself; and Capitalizing on opportunities to be of service and advance the academic discipline or the profession. Is the skill set required of an administrator different? Many would respond affirmatively and I would identify one major difference I noted when in various administrative roles: being an administrator requires much greater patience than being a faculty member. In the faculty role, one delivers a number of lectures and then administers an examination to determine whether the students learned the material. In an administrative role, the results or feedback can be much slower in materializing. A decision made or an initiative launched today may not produce an impact for quite some time. An appropriate level of patience is truly a virtue for an academic administrator. I readily acknowledge than my perspective is clearly one held by a small minority of faculty members. Is it likely this approach will go away? It is a very remote possibility. But hopefully people considering taking on an administrative role now have a differing perspective to consider before leaping into such opportunities.

As bases do poder social e a conduta do professor universitário em sala de aula

Based on the definitions of Bertram Raven, in 1999, for the eleven bases of social power, this study, with 448 university students, aimed to determinate their importance to the explanation of behaviors by those students due to being asked and influenced by their professors. The results showed that none of the bases of power demonstrate significantly influence on the student's behavior, and that professors who use more the personal reward, reference, expertise and information show completely opposite behaviors in relation to those who use the impersonal reward, personal coercion and impersonal coercion, being the first perceived as more supportive, cooperative, committed and competent.

Shared Temperament Risk Factors for Anorexia Nervosa: A Twin Study

To answer two questions about the nature of the relationship between anorexia nervosa (AN) and dimensional temperament traits: Which traits are comorbid with AN? Which traits share transmitted liabilities with AN? A community sample of 1002 same-gender female twins was selected with respect to participation in two earlier waves of data collection. Measures of eating disorder diagnoses and features were ascertained through interview and continuous measures of temperament were ascertained from self-report measures. Four temperaments were comorbid with AN, namely, higher levels of perfectionism (concern over mistakes, personal standards, doubt about actions), and higher need for organization. Comparison between the female co-twins of AN probands and controls (who had never had an eating disorder) showed that the former group reported higher levels of personal standards, organization, and reward dependence. The association between personal standards and reward dependence remained when controlling for the temperament of the proband or control in monozygotic twins. The evidence overall supports the suggestion that AN may represent the expression of a common underlying familial liability to a temperament style that reflects a striving for perfectionism, a need for order, and a sensitivity to praise and reward. The nature of the shared risk factors is likely to be, in part, genetic.

Use of functional foods among Swedish consumers is related to health-consciousness and perceived effect

The aim of the present study was to survey attitudes to and use of functional foods and to investigate which demographic variables and attitudes to diet and health predict consumption of functional foods among Swedish consumers. A questionnaire was developed and sent to 2000 randomly selected Swedish citizens aged between 17 and 75 years. A total of 972 (48%) responded, 53% were female and 44% male. Mean age was 45 years. The results revealed that 84% of respondents were familiar with the concept of functional foods; 83% had consumed/purchased at least one of the seven functional food products presented in the questionnaire. Of those who had consumed a functional food, 25% had perceived effect of it. Positive correlations were seen between consumers perceiving a personal reward from eating functional foods, having an interest in natural products and an interest in general health. Consumption/purchase of functional foods was related to beliefs in the effects of the products, having consumed nutraceuticals or dietary supplements, having a diet-related problem personally or in the family, and a high level of education. The characteristic Swedish functional food consumer has a high level of education, is health-conscious and interested in healthy foods and believes in the health effect of functional foods. Thus, factors other than demographics better explain consumption of FF. However, the study population may represent a more health-conscious segment of the Swedish population in general. Additional studies are therefore required to elucidate the attitudes and use of FF in different consumer groups.

An Investigation of the Role of Non–Work-Time Behavior in Buffering the Effects of Work Strain

In this exploratory study, we investigated the extent to which common leisure time behaviors, which generate positive feelings of fulfillment and personal reward, are significant in alleviating work-induced stress between successive work periods. We tested the hypotheses that such activities increase recovery from stress directly, and also by improving sleep quality, thereby alleviating maladaptive outcomes from work strain. An on-line survey study was completed by a heterogeneous sample of 314 workers in diverse occupations, in good health. Non-work-time behaviors play a significant role in mediating maladaptive outcomes from work strain. Multivariate analysis of these relationships indicates both direct and indirect effects, the latter being associated with mediating sleep quality. Respondents reporting higher levels of active leisure activities, exercise, and creative (hobby) and social activity, reported significantly better sleep, recovery between work periods, and lower chronic maladaptive fatigue symptomology. Active and fulfilling non-work-time behaviors are more significant in maximizing recovery from work strain than is commonly recognized. This effect is arguably due to the downregulation of stress-induced brain arousal, and stimulation of the pleasure-reward brain neurophysiology. Consistent recovery from work strain between work periods may represent a crucial factor in avoiding work-related "loss spirals" leading to maladaptive health outcomes, which can be particularly relevant to workers in inherently stressful occupations.

'In the Service of Society…': Lawyers and the Idea of a Profession

A profession, as we know, is essentially a group of people with specialised knowledge and specialised skills (and certified as such), who then enjoy an exclusive or monopoly right to engage in the practice of those skills, and, moreover, enjoy a large degree of self-regulation in doing so. Why these privileges? What is the quid pro quo?Put simply, the answer is that those monopoly rights are to be exercised not merely for personal reward but also in the service of society.This paper was presented at the Fragmentation or Consolidation? Fostering a Coherent Professional Identity for Lawyers, Australian Academy of Law Launch Symposium, Government House, Brisbane, Australia, 17 July 2007.

A model of senior tourism motivations—Anecdotes from Beijing and Shanghai

The study initiates an original inquiry into the motivations of senior tourism in China, a developing country which witnesses the fastest rate of aging in the world and is at the same time emerging as a global tourism superpower. A theoretical model is developed through an intense scrutiny of textual data collected through in-depth interviews. Using basic psychological theories on aging and motivation and adopting the grounded theory approach, the study proposes a tourism motivations model for Chinese seniors. The model consists of two main components: (1) external conditions include societal progress, personal finance, time, and health, of which personal finance and time are mediated through family support and responsibility; (2) internal desires include improving well-being, escaping routines, socializing, seeking knowledge, pride and patriotism, personal reward, and nostalgia. The first four factors are influenced by the life continuity concept, whereas seeking knowledge and pride and patriotism are affected by the respect concept. Further, the study puts forward eight propositions, each of which is discussed in reference to extant tourism motivation literature.

The fortunes of Dan Synergy

PurposeTo provide an analysis of the relationship of corporate and individual life in middle managementDesign/methodology/approachFictional poem.FindingsOrganisational and personal success often comes at the cost of personal sacrifice and disillusion.Originality/valueStimulates thought about how organizations and individuals may work together to maximize corporate and personal reward without detriment to personal fulfillment.

Successful knowledge management requires a knowledge culture: a case study

Culture is widely acknowledged to be a critical success factor in knowledge management (KM). This paper presents the case of KM implementation at MKS, an IT consulting firm based in India. Although the KM initiative at MKS had many of the hallmarks associated with successful KM projects, the initiative failed to get off the ground due to the absence of a ‘knowledge culture’ within the organisation. Subsequent interviews with MKS staff uncovered a range of cultural themes that appeared to impede the institutionalisation of KM at MKS. These cultural themes included:internal competitiveness among MKS staff resulting in ‘knowledge hoarding’,a lack of personal reward and incentive to engage in knowledge sharing,concerns over job security and the ‘devaluation’ of employees,stigma associated with the reliance on someone else's ideas,preference for a face-to-face mode of knowledge sharing over a tool-supported approach anddoubts over the quality of knowledge shared by more junior staff.

Precor shapes up to a change of culture

PurposeExamines how global fitness‐equipment manufacturer Precor has achieved cultural change through a strategy founded on increasing, and rewarding, personal accountability for results.Design/method/approachShows that, through training, Precor established direct connections between each employee and the corporation's financial performance. Describes how company‐wide communications, performance‐management processes, and reward‐and‐recognition programs support the change.FindingsDemonstrates how, through training, an organization can cause individuals and departments to embrace a culture of personal ownership, accountability and reward. Highlights the fact that, since Precor committed itself to organizational change, corporate revenues have increased by more than 50 percent and profitability is up by more than 200 percent.Originality/valueIllustrates that management can institutionalize a culture of personal ownership and accountability that generates superior financial results.

Employee ownership + accountability=competitive advantage: Precor drives organizational change

PurposeIt is well recognized that fast‐growing companies can outpace their systems and infrastructure. Similarly, rapidly growing companies can outgrow their corporate culture. This case study aims to address training that replaces an established yet outgrown corporate culture with a dynamic culture suitable for the growing organization.Design/methodology/approachGlobal fitness equipment leader Precor has achieved cultural change through a strategy founded in increasing – and rewarding – personal accountability for results. Through training, Precor established direct connections between each employee and the corporation's financial performance. A system of ongoing communications and rewards supports the change over time. The process included institutionalized and depth delivery of company‐wide communications, performance management processes, and reward‐and‐recognition programs.FindingsThrough training, an organization can successfully transition individuals and departments to embrace a culture of personal ownership, accountability and reward. Financial benefits also accrue: since Precor committed to organizational change, corporate revenues have increased by more than 50 percent, and profitability is up more than 200 percent.Practical implicationsManagement can institutionalize a culture of personal ownership and accountability that generates superior financial results.Originality/valueHuman resources and training executives interested in significantly increasing their organization's business results can gain insight into building employee accountability and individual links and ownership of their company's results.

Women Psychiatrists: Personal and Professional Choices--A Survey

A survey of female psychiatrists' personal and professional choices, their stress levels related to these choices, and their overall personal and professional satisfaction was conducted. Members of the Association of Women Psychiatrists residing in the U.S. and Canada were anonymously surveyed. Respondents with children spent significantly less time in career related activities, more time in family related activities, were more satisfied with their careers and with intimate relationships, and had less personal time than respondents without children. Respondents with academic affiliation reported significantly more satisfaction with their careers as a source of economic and personal reward, devoted more time to career related activities, less time to family, and were more stressed by current professional situation than women without academic appointment. Respondents without children and with academic affiliations reported the most stress in their current professional setting. Female psychiatrists who were able to combine children, intimate relationships, and academic involvement were the most satisfied of all groups.

The Relationship Between Gender of Consultant and Social Power Perceptions Within School Consultation

This study's focus was on school psychologists' perceived effectiveness of 11 social power bases (Raven, 1993) that may be drawn upon when consulting with initially resistant teachers. Specifically, the relationship between consultant gender and perceptions of power base effectiveness was examined. The Interpersonal Power Inventory-Form CT (Erchul, Raven, & Ray, 2001) was mailed to a national sample of school psychologists. Results indicated female school psychologists rated both “soft” bases (i.e., information, expert, legitimate dependency, personal reward, referent) and “hard” bases (i.e., impersonal reward, impersonal coercion, personal coercion, legitimate position, legitimate reciprocity, legitimate equity) as more effective than did male school psychologists. Effect size analysis, however, revealed that only soft power bases distinguished the groups. Findings are discussed in light of gender differences in communication and leadership styles.

UNNATURAL SELF- SACRIFICE

In this essay I explore Trollope's challenge to traditional Victorian valorizations of sacriÞce. A wide range of Victorian writings, from novels to sermons to economic and sociological treatises, suggests that sacriÞce is virtuous only when it comes without personal reward. In an era of unprecedented personal and national prosperity, Trollope rejected this purist standard for sacriÞce. The Þrst and last novels of his Barsetshire series do away with the attempt to retain a sphere of sacriÞce beyond a capitalistic circuit of exchange where theft and questionably gained surplus consistently threaten ethical life. Instead, the novels allow morally desirable acts to reap reward for their agents, to generate various forms of surplus that can then be fed back into a circuit of sympathetic human relations. In rejecting a sacriÞcial ideal, Trollope poses an everyday communal ethic of beneÞt in place of the idealized, highly individualistic model of self-denial that so many of his contemporaries endorsed.

School Psychologist and Teacher Perceptions of Social Power in Consultation

Social power has been recognized as central to understanding aspects of school consultation. This study examined school psychologist and teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of 11 bases of social power that psychologists might use with initially resistant teachers. Results suggested that psychologists and teachers held similar views about power within consultation: Both groups rated expert and informational power as the most effective bases, ranked the 11 power bases in a similar way, and indicated that psychologists would be more effective using “soft” (i.e., subtle, positive, noncoercive) bases rather than “hard” bases. Findings also suggested that the groups held different views of social power: Psychologists rated impersonal and personal reward power as more effective than did teachers, and teachers rated psychologists' use of legitimate position, informational, and legitimate dependence power as more effective than did psychologists.

Stress, ageing and quality of life

This paper highlights the role of chronic psychosocial stress in accelerated ageing and age-associated degenerative diseases, referring to the free radical theory of ageing. Chronic work stress in midlife provides an illustrative case to explore these associations, with an emphasis on cardiovascular disease and its subclinical precursors. It is argued that lack of control at work and the experience of an imbalance between efforts spent and rewards received at work trigger continued stress reactions with adverse long term effects on health. These conditions impair the working person's successful self-regulation in a core social role in adult life – the work role. Self-efficacy and self-esteem, two important psychological components of well-being and health, are compromised if personal control and social reward are lacking. Selected empirical results derived from epidemiological and experimental investigations are reported to illustrate this argument. In particular, otherwise healthy middle-aged employees suffering from stress at work are twice as likely to report a new cardiovascular disease in a five year period compared with their less stressed colleagues. In another study, an increase in average ambulatory systolic blood pressure and heart rate is observed in a group of workers characterized by an imbalance between effort and reward at work. The implications of this research for improved quality of life and healthy ageing in early old age concern the provision of adequate social roles, which offer opportunities for experiencing continued personal control and social reward. At the socio-political level, new forms of social productivity in economic and non-monetarized sectors need to be developed.

The Cottonship Program: A Partnership Model Designed to Enhance Undergraduate Education

A mini-internship program was envisioned to enable students to expand conventional classroom experiences by participatinginascientificmeetingandregionaltravel.TheCottonship Program was designed to integrate the interests of three stakeholders (university, industry, and students), with the goal of enabling undergraduate students to observe the diversity of scientific applications and career options in commercial agriculture. Duringtheweek-longCottonshipProgram,studentsattendedresearch sessions, technical exhibits, and met with academic and industry leaders at the annual Beltwide Cotton Conference. A multiday tour was organized to expose students to regional geography, soil and water management, agricultural enterprises and commerce, environmental issues, and cultural heritages. Academic expectations were completed when students shared their summary report with industry supporters. In a postevent surveyoftheparticipants,themostmeaningfulexperiencescited by students were an expanded awareness of science, the observation of unique crops and geographic regions in the USA, and agreaterawarenessofcareeroptions.BeforetheCottonshipexperience,only25%oftheundergraduateparticipantsexpressed any interest in graduate school; afterward, 58% enrolled in a graduate program after completing a B.S. degree. Industry representatives reported they gained a better understanding of today’s students and potential employees in noninterview discussions. The program was financially supported by 15 agriculturalfirms,withassistancefromthecotton(Gossypiumhirsutum L.) industry. The university expanded its traditional classroom learning process in cooperation with commercial firms. Participating faculty and tour hosts gained personal reward in organizing and providing these experiences for undergraduates.

The search for meaning in HIV and AIDS: the carers' experience.

This article explores informal carers' experiences in caregiving for people living with HIV and AIDS. The search for meaning encompasses the ways in which carers find meaning in caregiving. A grounded theory approach was taken. Data were collected by means of 43 in-depth interviews and participant observation. Caregivers felt that it was important to have control over the emphasis that HIV had within their lives and developed an attitude that put the virus in perspective. Getting involved in HIV and AIDS work outside of the immediate caregiving relationship was evident. The motivation for this was in part a reaction to prevailing societal views on HIV and in part altruistic in that it provided further meaning for the caregiving experience. This study suggests that finding meaning in caregiving is a powerful way to achieve a balance between the costs of caregiving and personal reward.

Candor and perversion: literature, education, and the arts

Roger Shattuck reaffirms literature as a central field of study and personal reward. With incisive analysis, he explores the nature of intellectual craftsmanship, defends art's moral anti-intellectualism and philistine pretension. He argues that, in recent years, American literary studies have embarked on a wayward course, and he shows how politics and theory have grown increasingly dominant. Looking to the past for guidance, Shattuck offers a powerful vision of a common literary and philosophical heritage. Whether commenting on Flaubert, Foucault, Pulp Fiction, Georgia O'Keeffe or V.S. Naipaul, he presents a stirring, humane synthesis of the principles and values by which we can live at peace with diversity.