Nomadic, Informal and Mediatised Work Practices: Role of Professional Social Approval and Effects on Quality of Life at Work

Several studies have emphasised the effects of perceived social approval in employees’ professional environment (colleagues and managers) on the implementation of remote and mediatised work practices and, more specifically, on their spatial, temporal and material characteristics. The use of information and communication technologies has been identified in the literature not only as affecting the levels felt by employees in terms of their relation to work (organisational commitment and recognition for work accomplished) but also in terms of work-life balance and health (stress and addictions). However, these studies are few in number when it comes to nomadic and informal work practices and rarely address perceived social approval in employees’ professional entourage. We used an empirical study based on a questionnaire survey. The results indicate that employees favour smartphone and laptop use. The effects of perceived social approval in their professional entourage differ according to the technologies used. These uses also have an impact on commitment and recognition, but their effects on employees’ perception of the effects of work life on “non-work” life and on addiction-related behaviours are more nuanced. These findings lead us to discuss the “right to disconnect” and the development of support and supervision schemes for nomadic, informal and mediatised work practices.

Correlates of Sexual Risky Behaviours, HIV Testing, and HIV Testing Intention among Sexually Active Youths in Northern Tanzania

Background: HIV testing services are important entry-point into the HIV cascade to care and treatment in order to slow down the spread of HIV infection. Over half of all new HIV infections in Sub-Saharan Africa occur among young people under the age of 25, particularly women. The study aimed to determine factors influencing young people’s decision to undergo HIV testing services in Northern Tanzania. Methods: A total of 536 sexually active participants aged 15 to 24 years old completed a semi-structured questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Results: Males compared to female participants were significantly younger at first age of sexual intercourse (15.4 vs. 16.7 years; p = .001). Out of 536 participants, 418(78%) reported inconsistent condom use, and 203/303(67%) were those practicing casual sex. Only, 189/536(35.3%) of the participants reported to have had an HIV-test. Age, socioeconomic status, perceived HIV severity, attitudes and social approval regarding testing and beliefs about testing procedures and perceived barriers to testing were significant predictors of HIV testing (R2 =.22). Age, unsafe casual sex, perceived severity, HIV-testing attitudes, self-efficacy, social approval, cues for actions and perceived quality of testing procedures were significant and positively related to HIV-testing intentions, while perceived barriers to testing were negatively related (R2 = .36). Conclusion: The integrated constructs of HBM and TPB provides a framework for identifying correlates of HIV testing behaviours and HIV testing intentions among sexually active youths. Future behaviour change interventions should focus on reduction of sexually risky behaviours, increasing perceived HIV severity, enhance positive attitudes and social approvals on testing, reduce misconceptions about testing procedures, alleviation of perceived barriers to testing and improve testing self-efficacy among sexually active youths in this setting.

The sociological MRI of a fetish. How ‘odd’ is an oddity and how ‘peculiar’ peculiarity?

We have used the term 'fetish' in a broader sense and especially related to the functions that a 'fetish' has in society. We are talking either about the tags that any 'fetish' receives [as undesirable, unwanted, forbidden, and peculiar], or about the uncertainty of its social approval, about the coagulating role it plays on individuals with the same repulsive vision/orientation that were previously unidentifiable, or many other aspects under which a so-called fetish works socially. The object or action in question passes from individual preference to the group emblem and then determines its actions and ideas, internally as well as in social exchanges with other groups. This is done in a fetishistic way with everything that is 'new' emerging in society, either previously non-existent, or competitive with something already standardized, or - as in the case of many fetishes - forbidden and socially stigmatized. If the first category does not meet a social resistance and does not end up turning into a fetish, for the group and the society, the other two have all the advantages to do so. The odd - competitive and forbidden alternatives - becomes the fetish for the group that adopts it as its emblem because it later regulates all its actions, as well as for the Society, because it keeps around the group and its actions the atmosphere in the sphere of fetishism - equivocal, promiscuous, and detestable. But precisely these very fetishistic attributes are the same ones that determine society to fight against the group and its 'fetish', new and peculiar, that also help disparate individuals to identify with that fetus, to coagulate as a group borrowing precisely this infamous, shameless identity. Therefore, the question we try to find answers here is but legitimate: since and until when oddity is ‘odd’?

Mediating Effect of Work Stress on the Associations Between Psychological Job Demands, Social Approval, and Workplace Violence Among Health Care Workers in Sichuan Province of China

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of workplace violence against health care workers, to explore the combined association of work stress, psychological job demands, and social approval with workplace violence and their respective mechanisms among health care workers.Methods: Using data from the Chinese Sixth National Health Service Survey (NHSS) in 2018 conducted among 1,371 health care workers in Sichuan province of China. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data on health care workers' socio-demographic and work-related characteristics, work stress, psychological job demands, social approval, and workplace violence. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesized relationship among the variables.Results: The results showed that a total of 77.0% health care workers were exposed to workplace violence. Work stress was directly related to workplace violence (β = 2.167, 95%CI: 1.707, 2.627), while psychological job demands and social approval had indirect associations with workplace violence via work stress [β = 0.427, 95%CI: 0.297, 0.557; β = −0.787, 95%CI: (−0.941)–(−0.633)]. Both psychological job demands (β = 0.197, 95%CI: 0.139, 0.255) and social approval [β = −0.346, 95%CI: (−0.399)–(−0.294)] had direct associations with work stress, while social approval had direct association with psychological job demands [β = −0.085, 95%CI: (−0.136)–(−0.034)]. Psychological job demands mediated the relationship between social approval and work stress.Conclusion: Overall, decreasing workplace violence among health care workers requires to promote interventions to reduce work stress and psychological job demands by improving social approval.

The Effect of Consumer-Activated Mind-Set and Product Involvement on the Compliance With Recommender System Advice

Whereas the research gauging the effectiveness of e-commerce recommender systems (RS) has depended on their design factors, recent work proposes a key role for consumer’s psychological factors. Involvement should reduce the compliance with RS advice because a consumer highly involved with the product perceives high choice risk and assigns low value to the advice. However, a consumer’s activated mind-set captured by implicit theory (fixed vs. growth mind-set) should also shape compliance. It is hypothesized that the two factors interact to jointly mitigate advice taking. Specifically, consumers whose fixed mind-set is primed comply with the RS advice less often when involvement is high. This and other anticipated effects (i.e., consumer’s importance of social approval, positive affect, and need for cognition) on advice compliance are tested in an experiment on 251 Canadian adults. In the experiment, compliance occurred when the participant follows the RS advice, and product involvement was initially measured. The results show that priming a fixed mind-set, which orients shoppers toward a performance goal, motivates them to comply with the RS advice when involvement is low. Priming a growth mind-set, which orients shoppers toward a learning goal, nullifies such effect. Positive affect and the importance of social approval had no significant impact on advice taking. Therefore, the effect of involvement on RS effectiveness is contingent on the shopper’s accessible mind-set.

Muslim female activism in social discourse of the republic of Tatarstan

Nowadays the stress turns from traditional forms of activism to new forms of it and mostly it is implemented in internet sphere. Today social nets become the place of formation and development of social discourse. In framework of this paper, several prominent Muslim female blogs in Instagram are examined. So contemporary Muslim women actively join in the information field, find their niche and ac- quire audience in social nets too. At the present point they represent themselves primarily as wives and mothers, thus they get social approval for being in public sphere. However, the example of contemporary Muslim bloggers tends to transform traditional conception of religious women and her behavioral pat- terns. Now Muslim women-bloggers do not make any statements, denoting their civil rights or political positions, generally they are oriented on female auditory. Their activity is an example of the way to imple- ment your right of appearance in public sphere, saving your religious identity.

ADULT’S AND ADOLESCENT’S SELF-PRESENTATION STRATEGIES IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

The article is devoted to the actual problem of personality Self-presentation in social networks among adults and adolescents.Purpose of the article is an empirical study of self-presentation psychological features in social networks and highlighting the differences in the use of virtual self-presentation strategies between adults and adolescents.Methods. To achieve this purpose theoretical methods were used: analysis, synthesis, classification, generalization and systematization; empirical methods: Scale for measuring tactics of Self-presentation Tactics Scale (S. Lee, B. Quigley) and the author’s questionnaire Self-presentation in social networks; statistical methods: T-Student’s criterion and hierarchical cluster analysis.Results. The study of self-presentation strategies in social networks involved two groups of subjects - adolescents (30 subjects aged 11–16 years) and adults (30 subjects aged 21–30 years) with different experiences of using social networks.There are three dominant motives that motivate respondents to use social networks: interest, friends and the desire to show themselves. The leading motive for adolescents is communication with friends, and for adults the characteristic motive is interest and desire to show themselves. The differences between the strategies of virtual Self-presentation in adults and adolescents are analyzed. There are statistically significant differences in the following strategies: avoidance; attractive behavior; self-aggrandizement; self-humiliation and force.Using hierarchical cluster analysis, groups of social networks users of adults and adolescents were singled out according to the parameter of using virtual Self-presentation tactics. Among adults, there are three user groups: 1) ideals-users, who want to present themselves as leaders; 2) users, who partially want to live the lives of others; 3) users, who want to assert themselves in the virtual world. There are also three groups of adolescents who use social networks: 1) users, who want to be liked and get social approval; 2) users aimed at Self-affirmation and 3) users, who need support.Conclusions. It was found that in the conditions of active informatization there are different motives for using social networks in adults and adolescents. Differences in the choice of self-presentation strategies by adults and adolescents in social networks are identified and the types of users are selected according to the choice of the dominant strategy of virtual self-presentation.Key words: self-presentation, adult and adolescence, social networks, self-image, self-presentation strategies, self-expression. Стаття присвячена актуальній проблемі самопрезентації особистості у соціальних мережах серед дорослих та підлітків.Мета статті – емпіричне вивчення психологічних особливостей самопрезентації у соціальних мережах та виокремлення відмінностей у використанні стратегій віртуальної самопрезентації у дорослих та підлітків.Методи. Для реалізації поставленої мети використовувались теоретичні методи: аналіз, синтез, класифікація, узагальнення та систематизація; емпіричні методи: «Шкала виміру тактик самопрезентації» (С. Лі, Б. Куіглі) та авторська анкета «Самопрезентація особистості в соціальних мережах»; статистичні методи: критерій Т-Стьюдента та ієрархічний кластерний аналіз.Результати. У дослідженні стратегій віртуальної самопрезентації взяли участь дві групи досліджуваних – підлітки (30 досліджуваних віком 11–16 років) та дорослі (30 досліджуваних віком 21–30 років) з різним досвідом користування соціальними мережами. Виділено три домінуючі мотиви, що спонукають досліджуваних користуватися соціальними мережами: цікавість, друзі та бажання показати себе. Серед підлітків провідним мотивом є спілкування з друзями, а для дорослих характерні мотиви цікавості та бажання показати себе. Проаналізовано відмінності стратегій віртуальної самопрезентації у дорослих та підлітків. Виявлено статистично значущі відмінності за такими стратегіями: ухилення; атрактивна поведінка; самозвеличення; самоприниження та силовий вплив.За допомогою ієрархічного кластерного аналізу виокремлено групи користувачів соціальних мереж дорослих та підлітків за параметром використання тактик віртуальної самопрезентації. Серед дорослих встановлено три групи користувачів: 1) «користувачі-ідеали», які прагнуть презентувати себе як лідерів; 2) користувачі, які частково прагнуть жити життям інших; 3) користувачі, які прагнуть самоствердитись у віртуальному світі. Серед підлітків-користувачів соціальних мереж також виявлено три групи: 1) користувачі, які прагнуть сподобатись і отримати соціальне схвалення; 2) користувачі, спрямовані на самоствердження та 3) користувачі, які прагнуть підтримки.Висновки. З’ясовано, що в умовах активної інформатизації існують відмінні мотиви користування соціальними мережами у дорослих та підлітків. Визначено відмінності у виборі стратегій самопрезентації дорослими та підлітками у соціальних мережах та виокремлено типи користувачів за вибором домінуючої стратегії віртуальної самопрезентації.Ключові слова: самопрезентація, дорослий та підлітковий вік, соціальні мережі, Я-образ, страте-гії самопрезентації, самовираження.

Measurement And Social Desirability Response Bias In Experimental Vignette Research: A Test Of Fazio's Mode Theory (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Experimental vignette research methods have been used to study a diverse range of theoretical and practical issues. Vignettes are designed to create hypothetical cultural/normative contexts for the study of variation in self-reported attitudes. A key problem in such research, however, is potential social desirability response bias. OBJECTIVE The objective of the present experiment is to test an explicit theory explaining such bias. METHODS A vignette experimental test of an hypothesis derived from a dual-process theory (the MODE framework initially developed by Fazio) linking explicit vs. implicit self-reported attitude measurement and social desirability response bias is reported here. RESULTS The data show that measuring the social approval of a central vignette character explicitly results in greater social desirability responding than measuring such approval implicitly, supporting MODE theory. CONCLUSIONS Vignette research methodologies provide a rich, flexible toolkit for studying many important social psychological topics, including issues of inequality and equity. However, researchers can and should design a measurement strategy that carefully manages inferences drawn in light of conditions likely to produce social desirability response bias