A Methodology for Developing Evidence about Meaning in Occupation: Exploring the Meaning of Working

Using research-based evidence to support practice is becoming a standard of care. Although occupational therapists believe that occupation can be used as a therapeutic agent to promote health and well-being in their clients, there is only limited research to support this. One reason for this is the difficulty in quantitatively constructing “occupation” for research. This article describes one method that can be used to quantitatively measure meaning, an important indicator of occupation. This study explicates the “meaning” of working as examined through three interconnected constructs of work meaning (work centrality, societal norms about working, and valued work outcomes) and provides an exemplar study in which these three constructs were used to examine the meaning of working in a group of telecommunication workers. The Meaning of Working Survey was used to gather information from 170 telecommunication workers. Data from the survey were analyzed using both descriptive methods and cluster analysis. By evaluating these three constructs, it was possible to identify trends and patterns of the meaning of working for this group of workers. They did not view work as a central life role and viewed working as a constraint or a reciprocal arrangement. They valued benefits and wages over intrinsic outcomes. The cluster analysis revealed that meaning was generally related to external outcomes. The discussion focuses on how this methodology for measuring meaning could be used to develop research on the meaning of occupation and its effect on health outcomes. This study provides occupational therapy researchers with one quantitative methodology for examining the meaning of working and an exemplar on how that methodology has been used in research on meaning and occupation.

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Two different approaches to the affective profiles model: median splits (variable-oriented) and cluster analysis (person-oriented)

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.1380 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. e1380 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Danilo Garcia ◽

Shane MacDonald ◽

Trevor Archer

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Weighted Average ◽

Well Being ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Self Report ◽

Cluster Method ◽

And Gender ◽

And Cluster Analysis ◽

Oriented Approach

Background.The notion of the affective system as being composed of two dimensions led Archer and colleagues to the development of the affective profiles model. The model consists of four different profiles based on combinations of individuals’ experience of high/low positive and negative affect: self-fulfilling, low affective, high affective, and self-destructive. During the past 10 years, an increasing number of studies have used this person-centered model as the backdrop for the investigation of between and within individual differences in ill-being and well-being. The most common approach to this profiling is by dividing individuals’ scores of self-reported affect using the median of the population as reference for high/low splits. However, scores just-above and just-below the median might become high and low by arbitrariness, not by reality. Thus, it is plausible to criticize the validity of this variable-oriented approach. Our aim was to compare the median splits approach with a person-oriented approach, namely, cluster analysis.Method.The participants (N= 2, 225) were recruited through Amazons’ Mechanical Turk and asked to self-report affect using the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule. We compared the profiles’homogeneityandSilhouette coefficientsto discern differences in homogeneity and heterogeneity between approaches. We also conducted exact cell-wise analyses matching the profiles from both approaches and matching profiles and gender to investigate profiling agreement with respect to affectivity levels and affectivity and gender. All analyses were conducted using the ROPstat software.Results.The cluster approach (weighted average of clusterhomogeneity coefficients= 0.62,Silhouette coefficients= 0.68) generated profiles with greater homogeneity and more distinctive from each other compared to the median splits approach (weighted average of clusterhomogeneity coefficients= 0.75,Silhouette coefficients= 0.59). Most of the participants (n= 1,736, 78.0%) were allocated to the same profile (Rand Index= .83), however, 489 (21.98%) were allocated to different profiles depending on the approach. Both approaches allocated females and males similarly in three of the four profiles. Only the cluster analysis approach classified men significantly more often than chance to a self-fulfilling profile (type) and females less often than chance to this very same profile (antitype).Conclusions.Although the question whether one approach is more appropriate than the other is still without answer, the cluster method allocated individuals to profiles that are more in accordance with the conceptual basis of the model and also to expected gender differences. More importantly, regardless of the approach, our findings suggest that the model mirrors a complex and dynamic adaptive system.

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How Do People Share Their Positive Events?

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000212 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 250-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Cara A. Palmer ◽

Meagan A. Ramsey ◽

Jennifer N. Morey ◽

Amy L. Gentzler

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Big Five ◽

Well Being ◽

Big Five Personality Traits ◽

Big Five Personality ◽

Positive Events ◽

Growing Body ◽

Sharing Patterns ◽

Practical Implications

Abstract. Research suggests that sharing positive events with others is beneficial for well-being, yet little is known about how positive events are shared with others and who is most likely to share their positive events. The current study expanded on previous research by investigating how positive events are shared and individual differences in how people share these events. Participants (N = 251) reported on their likelihood to share positive events in three ways: capitalizing (sharing with close others), bragging (sharing with someone who may become jealous or upset), and mass-sharing (sharing with many people at once using communication technology) across a range of positive scenarios. Using cluster analysis, five meaningful profiles of sharing patterns emerged. These profiles were associated with gender, Big Five personality traits, narcissism, and empathy. Individuals who tended to brag when they shared their positive events were more likely to be men, reported less agreeableness, less conscientiousness, and less empathy, whereas those who tended to brag and mass-share reported the highest levels of narcissism. These results have important theoretical and practical implications for the growing body of research on sharing positive events.

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Supplemental Material for Identifying Style-Types in a Sample of Musical Improvisations Using Dimensional Reduction and Cluster Analysis

Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts ◽

10.1037/aca0000072.supp ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Dimensional Reduction ◽

And Cluster Analysis

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Factor and cluster analysis of data from a position analysis of industrial and administrative work systems

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e668292012-196 ◽

1976 ◽

Author(s):

H. Luczak ◽

K. Landau ◽

W. Rohmert

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Work Systems ◽

Administrative Work ◽

Position Analysis ◽

Factor And Cluster Analysis ◽

And Cluster Analysis

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The limit of the contemporary financial system in Russia

National Interests Priorities and Security ◽

10.24891/ni.16.7.1223 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. 1223-1245

Author(s):

V.V. Smirnov

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Foreign Currency ◽

Financial System ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

High Tech ◽

Monetary Aggregate ◽

Internal System ◽

Monetary Relations ◽

And Cluster Analysis ◽

Structural Preservation

Subject. The article focuses on the modern financial system of Russia. Objectives. I determine the limit of the contemporary financial system in Russia. Methods. The study is based on methods of descriptive statistics, statistical and cluster analysis. Results. The article shows the possibility of determining the scope of the contemporary financial system in Russia by establishing monetary relations as the order of the internal system and concerted operation of subsystems, preserving the structure of the financial system, maintaining the operational regime, implementing the program and achieving the goal. I found that the Russian financial system correlated with the Angolan one, and the real scope of the contemporary financial system in Russia. Conclusions and Relevance. As an attempt to effectively establish monetary relations and manage them, the limit of the contemporary financial system is related to the possibility of using Monetary Aggregate M0 to maintain the balance of the Central Bank of Russia. To overcome the scope of Russia’s financial system, the economy should have changed its specialization, refocusing it on high-tech export and increasing the foreign currency reserves. This can be done if amendments to Russia’s Constitution are adopted. The findings expand the scope of knowledge and create new competence in the establishment of monetary relations, order of the internal system and concerted interaction of subsystems, structural preservation of the financial system and maintenance of its operational regime.

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