Factors affecting oviposition rate in the weevil Rhinocyllus conicus on non-target Carduus spp. in New Zealand.

<p>This study explores the relationship between professional contractors and the permanent employees they work with at organisations in New Zealand. This thesis uses two concepts, organisational socialisation and the psychological contract, as lenses through which the working relationship is explored. The 20th century notion of standard employment has largely been eroded, giving way to different forms of non-standard work. Professional contractors are now found performing a variety of roles in many organisations across this country. Many are doing the work of permanent employees, but they are neither employees nor permanent. Professional contractors are a type of non-standard, transient worker. As part of a blended workforce, professional contractors work alongside permanent employees, but little is known about how they work together. This qualitative study involves 49 face-to-face interviews with professional contractors, permanent employees and managers working in the Information Technology (IT) divisions of 10 organisations in three major cities in New Zealand. This research design results in a rich data set. The data collected was subject to analysis using the software NVIVO. This data was analysed in relation to the literature on organisational socialisation and the psychological contract to further explain the working relationship between professional contractors and permanent employees. The findings reveal professional contractors’ experience of Van Maanen’s (1979) socialisation tactics were: collective, informal, variable, random and serial. It was found that an organisation’s policy sets the tone for the treatment (induction, inclusion and management) of professional contractors. According to the professional contractors interviewed, the Chao, O'Leary-Kelly, Wolf, Klein, and Gardner (1994) socialisation content dimensions that are important are structure, culture and values and language but history was not considered important. According to the managers interviewed, contractors need to know about the processes and procedures of the client organisation, have strong technical skills and industry, sector or domain knowledge. It was found that the indicator of adjustment ‘acceptance by insiders’ (Bauer & Erdogan, 2012) may be a sign that the contractor is adjusting to their new role but it is not essential. A new indicator of adjustment for professional contractors – output – clearly emerged from the data. The notion of ‘time to productivity’ is highly relevant to professional contractors and three factors affecting it are identified (contractor capability, role complexity and organisation readiness). Another important finding is that permanent employees play a key role as socialisation agents (Feldman, 1994; Jones, 1983; Van Maanen, 1978) in the socialisation of professional contractors. Surprisingly, it was found that other professional contractors also act as socialisation agents assisting the newcomer to adjust. It was found that proactive socialisation is particularly important for professional contractors. Together these findings establish the need to reconceptualise organisational socialisation for professional contractors specifically. The second part of this thesis explores the psychological contract by asking interviewees about their mutual expectations. The expectations of each of the three parties (managers, professional contractors, and permanent employees) are subtly different, potentially influencing the psychological contract they develop. Permanent employees expect great things, professionalism and independence from professional contractors. Managers expect speed, professionalism and value for money from contractors. On the other hand, professional contractors simply expect to be treated with respect by their colleagues. Professional contractors expect to be given autonomy by their managers and support or guidance, should they require it. This study was not able to ascertain what type of psychological contract a professional contractor may develop. It is possible that a professional contractor develops a hybrid psychological contract. Alternatively, it is possible that a professional contractor’s psychological contract moves between the types developed by Rousseau (1995) over the course of their term with the client organisation. The insights gained by exploring the expectations of professional contractors, permanent employees and their managers are two-fold. Firstly, these expectations provide a valuable insight into the working relationship. Secondly, the exploration of a breach or violation of the psychological contract indicates that a malleable psychological contract (one that will shift or adjust) is less likely to manifest a breach or violation. Therefore, it is better for a professional contractor to develop and maintain a malleable rather than rigid psychological contract. This study’s findings highlight the interrelationship between organisational socialisation and the psychological contract. This thesis asserts that the working relationship between professional contractors and permanent employees is specifically influenced by the socialisation of contractors as newcomers and in the mutual expectations, which form the psychological contract. As a result, it contributes to theorising and understanding of the working relationship between professional contractors and permanent employees. It identifies several tensions in the co-dependent working relationship, which are: time, team, treatment and training. This study has implications for Human Resource practitioners and managers because there is a need for corporate or HR policy relating to the treatment professional contractors. The use of organisational socialisation and the psychological contract as lenses with which the working relationship is explored is both original and meaningful.</p>

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Factors affecting levels of calcium compounds in New Zealand woolgrease

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1080/00288233.1990.10430676 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 185-198 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Douglas A. Rankin

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Calcium Compounds

Get full-text (via PubEx)

‘Quit while you are ahead – and smell the roses!’ A survey of retired Fellows of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists

Anaesthesia and Intensive Care ◽

10.1177/0310057x211005783 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0310057X2110057

Author(s):

Diana Strange Khursandi ◽

Victoria Eley

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

New Zealand ◽

Standard Deviation ◽

Response Rate ◽

Common Factors ◽

Published Data ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Retirement Decisions ◽

Zealand College ◽

The Mean

There are no published data on the age of retirement of anaesthetists in Australia and New Zealand. We surveyed 622 retired Fellows of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists to determine their ages of complete retirement from clinical practice, demographics, and whether they had retired at the age they had intended to retire. We also aimed to explore factors affecting the decision to retire, the practice of ‘winding down’, common post-retirement activities, and the arrangement of personal and professional affairs. Responses were received from 371 specialists (response rate 60%). The mean (standard deviation) age of retirement was 65.2 (6.9) years. The mean (standard deviation) retirement ages ranged from 62.0 (7.1) years (those who retired earlier than planned) to 68.0 (4.3) years (those who retired later than they had intended). The mean (standard deviation) age of retirement of the male respondents was 66.0 (6.5) years, and for female respondents was 62.7 (7.7) years. Two hundred and thirty-three respondents (63%) reported winding down their practice prior to retirement, and 360 (97%) had made a will. Poor health and loss of confidence were the two most common factors in the retirement decisions of those who retired earlier than they had planned. Our results may assist current practitioners plan for retirement, and suggest strategies to help health services, departments and private groups accommodate individuals in winding down their practice.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Predation, prey preference and reproduction of predatory mites Amblydromalus limonicus (Garman), Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant) and Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) (Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) on immature Sericothrips staphylinus Haliday (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), a biocontrol agent of gorse

Systematic and Applied Acarology ◽

10.11158/saa.24.3.14 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 508

Author(s):

Wendy Lam ◽

Quentin Paynter ◽

Zhi-Qiang Zhang

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

New Zealand ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Biocontrol Agent ◽

Predation Rate ◽

Mite Species ◽

Oviposition Rate ◽

Neoseiulus Cucumeris ◽

Amblydromalus Limonicus ◽

Amblyseius Herbicolus

Gorse, Ulex europaeus, is an invasive weed that has serious agricultural, economic and ecological impacts. Although various biological control agents have been released in New Zealand, these have showed no noticeable impact on gorse populations. One such agent, Sericothrips staphylinus, was introduced to New Zealand in 1990 and although laboratory impact studies indicated it was a highly promising gorse biological control agent, it has not been as effective as was hoped. We hypothesized this was due to predation by natural enemies. This study investigated the predation and oviposition rates of three phytoseiid mites (Amblydromalus limonicus, Amblyseius herbicolus, and Neoseiulus cucumeris) that have been found on gorse plants in New Zealand on three S. staphylinus stages (1st instar larvae, 2nd instar larvae, and prepupa) in both choice and non-choice conditions. In non-choice conditions, A. limonicus had the highest predation and oviposition rate across all three immature stages, and N. cucumeris had the lowest. Amblydromalus limonicus, A. herbicolus, and N. cucumeris all had their highest predation rate when consuming 1st instar larvae, and their lowest predation rate when consuming prepupa. In the choice experiment, all three predatory mite species consumed their highest proportion of 1st instar larvae, and their lowest proportion of prepupae. The oviposition rate of all three mite species in the choice experiment was similar to the oviposition rate when presented with 1st instar larvae only. The results from this study confirm that A. limonicus, A. herbicolus, and N. cucumeris can predate and reproduce on S. staphylinus 1st instar larvae, 2nd instar larvae, and prepupa. This indicates that predation may be the reason why S. staphylinus is an ineffective biocontrol agent in New Zealand.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Factors that Determine Medical Student Interest in Psychiatry

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.3109/00048679009062887 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 65-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Philip G. Ney ◽

William W. K. Tam ◽

William L. Maurice

Keyword(s):

Medical Student ◽

New Zealand ◽

Medical Students ◽

Student Interest ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Faculty Attitude ◽

Quality Of Patient Care ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Negative Factors

Our study of pre-medical and medical students attending the Universities of British Columbia, Hong Kong and Otago, together with house surgeons, general practitioners, surgeons and psychiatrists in New Zealand, demonstrated many agreements regarding both positive and negative factors affecting their interest in psychiatry. Positive factors included: interest in human behaviour, personal aptitude, and quality of patient care. Negative factors included: the stress of practising psychiatry, faculty attitude and the quality of the science. Differences were determined by age of the students and cultural and personal experiences. We concluded that if more students are to be interested in psychiatry then psychiatrists will need to show that they enjoy their work and give effective treatment.

Get full-text (via PubEx)