Gender contentedness in aspirations to become engineers or medical doctors

Medical doctor and engineer are highly esteemed STEM professions. This study investigates academic and motivational characteristics of a sample of high school students in Thailand who aspire to become medical doctors or engineers. We used logistic regression to compare maths performance, gender typicality, gender contentedness, and maths and physics self-concepts among students with aspirations for these two professions. We found that high levels of felt gender contentedness in men had positive association with aspirations for engineering irrespective of the levels of maths or physics self-concept. We found that high levels of felt gender contentedness combined with high levels of maths or physics self-concept in women had positive associations with aspirations to become a medical doctor. These findings are evidence that student views of self are associated with uneven gendered patterns in career aspirations and have implications for the potential for future participation.     

客户关系与企业现金持有——来自中国转型经济的经验证据

基于中国转型经济背景,采用交易强度与交易持续时间双重维度刻画中国上市公司客户关系.结果发现,客户关系主要通过弱化企业关系承诺动机、而非预防动机进而使其减持现金,尤其在非政府控股企业中表现得更为显著.基于现金持有经济后果的实证分析显示,客户关系的存在弱化了企业现金的价值贡献,表明上述行为的合理性,揭示了客户关系的社会资本特性.     

组织承诺理论对图书馆管理的启示

近年来,组织承诺理论已成为国内外学者研究的热点。在介绍组织承诺理论的概念及其研究历程的基础上,结合我国图书馆组织承诺的特点与现状,提出了提高图书馆员组织承诺的具体构想。     

The association of school environment to student teachers' satisfaction and teaching commitment

A supportive school environment is crucial to the enhancement of student teaching experiences. This study assesses student teachers' perceptions of secondary school environments, and then relates the perceptions to their satisfaction with school experiences and teaching commitment. The results show that considerable disparities between student teachers' perceptions of actual and preferred school environments and suggest certain directions for improvement. Student teachers' perceptions about their school environments, especially in the areas of professional interest and staff freedom, were positively associated with their satisfaction. Several school environmental aspects influenced the total years they planned to teach and their intention to teach at the placement schools.     

国内观众成本理论与国际合作

本文主要讨论了国内观众成本如何影响国际合作.观众成本理论是理性主义国际关系理论的最新发展.这一理论指出,由于国际事件的公开性,使得领导人的行为越来越受到国内外政治观众的关注,因此在国际互动中存在着观众成本.而观众成本的存在能够影响国家间的互动,例如国际合作.本文回顾了观众成本的概念,探讨了国际合作常常失败的原因.进而指出,由于观众成本是代价高昂的信号,因此可以传递国家的真实意图,增强承诺的可信性以促成国家间的合作.最后,本文检视了这一研究的进步与不足.     

Sport commitment and participation in masters swimmers: The influence of coach and teammates

Abstract

This study investigated how coach and teammates influence masters athletes' sport commitment, and the effect of functional and obligatory commitments on participation in masters swimming. The sample consisted of 523 masters swimmers (330 males and 193 females) aged between 22 and 83 years (M = 39.00, SD = 10.42). A bi-dimensional commitment scale was used to measure commitment dimensions and perceived influence from social agents. Structural equation modelling analysis was conducted to evaluate the influence of social agents on functional and obligatory commitments, and the predictive capabilities of the two types of commitment towards sport participation. Support provided by coach and teammates increased functional commitment, constraints from these social agents determined higher obligatory commitment, and coach constraints negatively impacted functional commitment. In addition, both commitment types predicted training participation, with functional commitment increasing participation in team training sessions, and obligatory commitment increasing the hours of individual training. The findings suggest that in order to increase participation in masters swimming teams and reduce non-supervised training, coach and teammates should exhibit a supportive attitude and avoid over expectation.     

The Sport Commitment Model: An Investigation of Structural Relationships with Thai Youth Athlete Populations

Grounded in the conceptual framework of the Sport Commitment Model and previous empirical studies conducted in Western countries, this study was designed to (a) test and validate a Thai version of the Athlete Opinion Survey to assess components of the Sport Commitment Model in Thai youth athletes and (b) examine structural relationships among various constructs of the Sport Commitment Model as assessed by the Thai version of the Athlete Opinion Survey. Survey data were collected from 1,704 Thai youth athletes and analyzed via structural equation modeling methodologies to establish evidence for validity and measurement reliability. Results from various analyses indicated adequate support for the hypothesized factorial structure and acceptable reliability estimates of the Thai version of the Athlete Opinion Survey subscales. Moreover, modeling analyses showed empirical support for the hypothesized structural relationships underlying the Sport Commitment Model in the Thai youth athlete population. The findings from this study have implications for a better understanding of sport commitment in different cultural settings.     

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Commitment-to-School Scale Using a Sample of Junior High School Youth in Ghana

Empirical evidence from developed countries suggests that students' commitment to school is fundamental to their academic success. However, in developing countries, validated measures of student commitment to school do not exist. The current study helps fill this research gap by examining the validity and reliability of a commitment-to-school scale (CSS) adapted for the Ghanaian context. With a sample of 6,252 middle school–age students, the study employs exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with weighted least squares means and variance adjusted (WLSMV) to establish and validate the construct as bidimensional. Measurement invariance tests confirm that the two-factor commitment model is generalizable across grade levels but not genders. Given its parsimony and good fit, the adapted CSS might be useful for future research in Ghana. Similarity of the model across grade levels suggests that the scale has potential uses in education research among diverse groups. We suggest that the CSS be developed further for better understanding of students' commitment to school.     

Engagement Project: elements for a reformulation of the Tutorial Action Plan of the Teacher Training degrees at the University of Barcelona / Proyecto Engagement: elementos para una reformulación del Plan de Acción Tutorial de los grados de maestro en la Universidad de Barcelona

As a teaching method, tutorials are fundamental to university education, and are underpinned by the following goals: to accompany students; to help them establish a clear training pathway; and to promote their academic achievement. Our proposal aims to introduce psychological aspects into the Tutorial Action Plan (TAP) which, while often left unattended, are closely related to academic achievement. Our objective is to identify the relation between the academic commitment of pre-service teachers (preschool education, primary education and double degree students) at the UB and stress and coping skills, academic motivation, achievement and self-efficacy, as well as the opinions of students and tutors on the resources used during TAP and potential improvements to it. This is a transversal prospective exploratory study, applying the following questionnaires: Academic commitment (UWESS-9); Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); Self-efficacy (NGSE); Motivation (MSLQ); and two ad hoc online questionnaires. In conclusion, we hope that the results of this study will help us reformulate the TAP of said degree programmes, improving personalized attention and the quality of the student tutorial system, which is one of the standards used to assess universities.     

Antecedents of organizational commitment among faculty: an exploratory study

Faculty are the main asset of a university and determine its success. The attitudes of faculty toward their institution play an especially important role in the academic profession. This study examines the specific antecedents of affective, normative and continuance commitment of faculty to their university. This study is an online survey of 317 faculty of Russian higher education institutions. The results of the regression analysis showed that being an undergraduate inbred (i.e. working at the university from which one graduated) predicted affective and normative commitment toward the university, while having a post at another higher education institution predicted only affective commitment. Faculty who work at several universities have lower levels of emotional attachment to the primary university.