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1 – 10 of 32J.P. Foith, C. Eisenbarth and E. Enderle
The digital analysis system SAM (sensorsystem for automation and measurement) is suitable for inspection, workpiece handling, assembly and process control. Unlike other systems…
Abstract
The digital analysis system SAM (sensorsystem for automation and measurement) is suitable for inspection, workpiece handling, assembly and process control. Unlike other systems SAM performs part of the analysis with image analysis processors working in parallel at television speed.
Literature on psychology highlights four traits that shape an amoral and antisocial personality: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy and sadism. Together, these personality…
Abstract
Purpose
Literature on psychology highlights four traits that shape an amoral and antisocial personality: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy and sadism. Together, these personality traits form the Dark Tetrad. In this study, the standard intertemporal utility maximization model is reassessed from the point of view of a representative economic agent endowed with the Dark Tetrad personality traits.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach followed in this paper consists of identifying how each of the Dark Tetrad traits might be logically associated with the dynamic utility problem, as well as exploring, in the context of the model, the implications, for consumption and utility, of admitting the presence of such traits in individuals’ personalities.
Findings
It is found that, typically, dark personalities penalize consumption growth, even when such traits are interpreted directly and positively contributing to the utility of the agent. It is also found that in economies with two or more interacting agents, the dark traits might have a mutually destructive nature.
Originality/value
Economics is going through a smooth revolution in the direction of becoming an eminently behavioral science. Most of the traditional economic models, based on the idea of the hyper-rational agent, are being replaced or complemented by a different view of the homo-economicus, in which, among other things, personality matters. This paper offers a novel contribution in this direction.
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Drawing on the stress and coping theory, conservation of resources (COR) theory and social role theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of social media overload on…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the stress and coping theory, conservation of resources (COR) theory and social role theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of social media overload on knowledge withholding behavior and examine the gender differences in social media overload, engendering knowledge withholding.
Design/methodology/approach
By hiring a professional online survey company, this study collected valid responses from 325 general social media users. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, bootstrapping method and multi-group analysis were used to test the proposed theoretical model.
Findings
The empirical results reveal that three types of social media overload positively affect users' knowledge withholding behavior and that emotional exhaustion significantly mediates the above relationships. The multi-group analysis demonstrates that gender differences do exist in the decision-making process of knowledge withholding; for example, females are more likely than males to become emotionally exhausted from social media overload, while males are more likely than females to engage in knowledge withholding behavior in the case of emotional exhaustion.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining the relationship between social media overload and knowledge withholding, verifying the mediating role of emotional exhaustion as the key mechanism linking them, and narrowing the research gap of lacking gender differences research in knowledge withholding literature.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between dark triad personality (DTP) and organizational and individual counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between dark triad personality (DTP) and organizational and individual counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) and perceived career success among employees in Turkey. Additionally, the study examined the effects of four situational variables: perceived organizational politics, transparency, psychological contract breach, and accountability.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 156 employees across five service organizations in Sakarya, Turkey, using the survey method.
Findings
The regression analysis findings showed that the three traits of the DTP, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy were significantly related to both organizational and interpersonal dimensions of the CWB. Narcissism was not related to any of the dimensions of CWB. The findings showed no significant relationship between any of the four situational variables and the two forms of CWB. However, three of the situational variables were related to perceived career success, while the three dimensions of DTP were not.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations of this study are its cross-sectional design and the self-reported measures of the dependent variables. Interestingly, the study showed that having high levels of DTP does not necessarily promote their careers.
Originality/value
This study contributes to examining career success as a dependent variable in addition to CWB. The findings showed that situational variables are related to career success, and DTP is related to CWB. This finding has both conceptual and practical implications.
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Shannon DeBlasio and Dara Mojtahedi
The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (Tri-PM) was developed in 2010 as an alternative approach to the assessment of psychopathy. The measure aims to capture psychopathic traits on a…
Abstract
Purpose
The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (Tri-PM) was developed in 2010 as an alternative approach to the assessment of psychopathy. The measure aims to capture psychopathic traits on a 3-factor model, which encompass the characteristics established in previous measures, as well as those evidenced within practise. Though support for the tool in academic research is growing, less is known about the scale’s utility within crime forensic settings. Thus, this study aims to explore the relationship between the Tri-PM psychopathy constructs and criminal cognition within a forensic sample.
Design/methodology/approach
Seventy-three adult male offenders, convicted for acquisitive or sexual crimes, from a Category B prison within the Northwest of England completed questionnaires measuring their criminal backgrounds, psychopathy traits (Tri-PM; Patrick, 2010) and criminal thinking styles (Psychology Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles; Walters, 2001).
Findings
The Tri-PM measurement proved to be a successful predictor of most criminal thinking styles. Moreover, the meanness construct was the strongest predictor of proactive thinking styles, whereas the disinhibition construct was the strongest predictor of reactive thinking styles, and the boldness construct was negatively associated with reactive thinking. Comparisons among offender groups also indicated that acquisitive offenders reported higher scores of psychopathy and criminal thinking.
Originality/value
This study offers valuable insight into the proposed relationship between psychopathy and criminal thinking, using a recent addition to the repertoire of psychopathy measurements, the Tri-PM. This study also offers practical implications for those offering treatment within forensic settings, with significant relationships identified between the highly scoring psychopathy constructs and various criminal thinking styles.
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Lisa Schwegmann, Volkmar Zabel and Steffen Koch
Adaptive load-bearing structures pursue the approach of saving mass within a load-bearing structure by adding external energy, thus saving materials and resources. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Adaptive load-bearing structures pursue the approach of saving mass within a load-bearing structure by adding external energy, thus saving materials and resources. This paper provides an overview of current research developments and shows some examples of existing prototypes.
Design/methodology/approach
First, basic terms and definitions from the research field of adaptive structures are introduced. After a brief historical insight, the numerical methods and prototypes used are presented as examples. The paper concludes with a summary of the state-of-the-art and open questions.
Findings
The current state of the art shows that the idea of adaptive structures offers great potential for more sustainability and resource efficiency in the construction industry. However, it also shows that research is still at the basic stage and that there are still some gaps in research.
Originality/value
The implementation of adaptive load-bearing structures is just one of many different approaches to greater sustainability in the construction sector. The issue of adaptive structures is a highly interdisciplinary field of research. The following paper is a literature review intended to summarize and critically evaluate the state-of-the-art research in this field. In the final section, some open questions are addressed, indicating that this research topic is still evolving.
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Jan De Varé, Vivienne de Vogel, An de Decker, Sabine Tremmery, Kasia Uzieblo and Leen Cappon
Despite the rising number of females in forensic psychiatry, research about their characteristics remains limited and is currently lacking in Belgium. Optimizing knowledge about…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the rising number of females in forensic psychiatry, research about their characteristics remains limited and is currently lacking in Belgium. Optimizing knowledge about the characteristics of these women will lead to a better understanding of this specific group. Therefore, the aim of the study was to gain insight into the characteristics of female forensic psychiatric patients in Flanders, Belgium.
Design/methodology/approach
A case file study was carried out in the forensic psychiatric hospital Sint-Jan-Baptist in Zelzate, Belgium. The files of female patients admitted in the period 2006–2017 were analysed (N = 82) based on a checklist including sociodemographic, mental health care and offence-related characteristics as well as historical risk factors.
Findings
The study revealed that female patients have been confronted with a large number of adverse experiences during both childhood and adulthood, were frequently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and usually had an extensive mental health treatment history with many drop-outs. The majority of the female patients had committed violent offences towards relatives.
Practical implications
These findings are similar to those of other jurisdictions and highlight the importance of a gender-responsive treatment. This kind of treatment should include trauma-informed care, gender-sensitive risk-assessment and adapted versions of dialectical behavioural therapy and schema-focussed therapy. Additionally, treatment should focus on breaking the intergenerational transmission of violence and mental health problems by targeting parenting skills.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that scientifically scrutinized the detailed characteristics of female forensic psychiatric patients in Flanders, Belgium. Recommendations for gender-responsive treatment and directions for future research are discussed.
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Laura Ramsay and Nicholas Smith
This study aims to investigate the impact of support through enhanced management (StEM) on the safety of people who have committed offences, who reside in the women’s estate…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of support through enhanced management (StEM) on the safety of people who have committed offences, who reside in the women’s estate prisons in England.
Design/methodology/approach
A matched control study comprising 32 participants investigated the number of safety incidents before and after the implementation of StEM.
Findings
When comparing people in prison who had StEM, to those who had not, there were no significant differences in the number of safety incidents one month after StEM was implemented, compared to the one month before. There was a statistically significant reduction in safety incidents in the three months after StEM was completed, compared to the three months before it was implemented, compared to the matched control group.
Research limitations/implications
This study was not able to achieve the minimum number of StEM cases to obtain sufficient power. The matched control group limited the number of StEM cases that could be included.
Practical implications
StEM has a positive influence on the reduction of safety incidents longer term. Researchers hypothesised that adherence to the StEM policy, collaborative and joined up staff working and investment in the care of people in prison were central to successful outcomes.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the growing evidence about the effective use of the StEM consultancy process within women’s estate prisons. It is the first evaluation of StEM to introduce a matched control group.
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Angelica Carreira dos Santos, Daniel Araki Ribeiro, Jessica Almeida da Cruz Ferreira, Odair Aguiar, Dan Linetzky Waitzberg and Claudia Cristina Alves
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of prebiotic, probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on liver histopathology and TLR-4, NFκB and TNF-α gene expression…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of prebiotic, probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on liver histopathology and TLR-4, NFκB and TNF-α gene expression involved in the inflammatory cascade and pathogenesis of experimental nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Design/methodology/approach
Wistar male adult rats (n = 40) were submitted to hypercholesterolemic conditions (60 days). On Day 30 of hypercholesterolemic conditions, rats were subdivided in five groups: negative control (NC), positive control (PC), prebiotic (PRE), probiotic (PRO) and synbiotic (SYN). All rats were sacrificed on Day 60. Liver tissue was used to verify histopathological changes and gene expression. Gene expression of TLR-4, TNF-α and NFκB was evaluated in liver tissue using RT-qPCR.
Findings
Histopathological analysis: PC showed more changes than NC, and PRE and SYN showed fewer alterations than PC. Gene expression analysis: PRE showed higher TLR-4, and NFκB and TNF-α compared to PC. Also, PRE showed higher TLR-4 when compared to PRO and SYN. SYN group revealed higher TLR-4 and NFκB expressions compared to PC. PRO group also showed higher NFκB expression compared to PC.
Originality/value
NAFLD is a significant health concern, and it found that prebiotic, probiotic and synbiotic supplementation could have positive effects as a nonpharmacological approach to control this disease.
Kristina Brenisin, Elizabeth Akinwande, Aile Trumm and Kieran Breen
The concept of inequality can be described as not being treated equally to everyone else in society. While previous studies have explored the concept of inequality and its impact…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of inequality can be described as not being treated equally to everyone else in society. While previous studies have explored the concept of inequality and its impact on mental illness, these have been primarily quantitative. The details of experiences and potential impacts of inequalities by patients prior to admission into secure care have not been investigated comprehensively using a qualitative approach, which will identify individualised factors that may contribute to the development of mental ill-health. This study aims to explore whether those with multiple disadvantages are at greater risk of developing mental illness.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study of patients’ clinical notes upon admission to a secure in-patient facility was conducted using a thematic analytical approach to investigate the key inequalities reported by patients with mental health problems. The topic of inequality was examined by assessing the clinical notes of 21 patients who were under treatment at the time of the study.
Findings
The majority of patients experienced multiple inequalities which impacted negatively on their mental health status. Three main themes that were identified were – a disrupted living environment, disturbed childhood and the importance of support. The thematic analysis has shown that the majority of the patients were exposed to numerous societal disadvantages in association with challenging life events in their early years and these have impacted significantly on their subsequent well-being.
Practical implications
When assessing the background to mental illness, it is important to gain a deep understanding of many inequalities that patients have faced prior to them developing their condition and, in particular, how these have combined to initiate the clinical manifestation. The study highlights the importance of raising awareness of how being treated unfairly, whether based on protected or non-protected characteristics, can contribute towards people becoming disadvantaged in society and ultimately making them more vulnerable to the development of mental health difficulties. Results of the study may inform the future use of inequalities as an integral component in the development of trauma-informed care.
Originality/value
This is the first study, to the authors’ knowledge, to consider intersectionality and admission to mental health units by adopting qualitative approach, specifically by reviewing patients’ clinical notes.
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