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Thesis (Ph.D.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

Over the last few decades, increased flexibility and lack of stability in employment has made job insecurity a work stressor that keeps affecting more and more  employees. This study investigates to what extent core self-evaluations influence the appraisal of job insecurity in a Swedish sample of white-collar workers (N=425). By applying the Preacher & Hayes’ macro for multiple mediation the study also tests if there is a mediating effect of coping style on the relation between core self-evaluations and job insecurity. The results show that core self-evaluations have predictive validity in relation to job insecurity. Core self-evaluations are also associated with task-based coping style. However, no mediating effect of coping style was found on the relation between core self-evaluations and job insecurity. / Stockholm Stress Center / Job insecurity from a gender perspective

Achieving food security in its totality continues to be a challenge in developing nationsespecially those in Africa. The root cause of food insecurity in developing countries is theinability of people to gain access to food due to poverty (Pinstrup-Aderesen, 2002). While therest of the world has made significant progress towards poverty alleviation, Africa, inparticular Sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag behind.Karamoja region is not any different from other developing regions battling with foodinsecurity because of poverty and unpredictable rainfall. For quite a long point in time,Karamoja region has suffered prolonged draught due to unpredictable rain failure which hasinflicted a lot of misery to the people by making them food insecure because of little or nofood harvests. In the dawn of climate change, the situation may further deteriorate if urgentsustainable food security strategies are not introduced in Karamoja.The tasks of reverting Karamoja’s food insecurity to the same secure levels of the other partsof the country requires a shift from emergency relief distribution to sustainable selfproduction planning by the people of Karimojong. This research therefore goes out toinvestigate the potential of one sustainable strategy called Permaculture in addressing the foodinsecurity at the household level for the Karamojongs.Permaculture is a practical concept applicable from the balcony to the farm, from the city tothe wilderness. It is a design system for sustainable environments providing food, energy,shelter, material and non-material needs, as well as the social and economic infrastructuresthat support them. Permaculture means thinking carefully about our environment, our use ofresources and how we supply our needs. It aims to create systems that will sustain not onlyour present, but also future generations (PIJ, 1999).The final result of the current paper is that according to the case study, the Karamojongpracticing Permaculture are more food secure than the ordinary Karamojong. It was alsofound that the land in Karamoja is fertile and if sensitization and awareness of this concept iscarried out, Permaculture will help in reverting the current food insecurity in Karamoja in along run.

Because of more and more emphasis on citizen¡¦s welfare, governments unceasingly expand the capability in order to serve citizens. It leads to the excessive expansion of the bureaucratic systems, and increase public financial burden. However, the government expansion didn¡¦t lead to high efficiency and efficacy of administration, a instead the gigantic government bureaucratic system became more and more tardy and inefficient. In addition, under the pressure of the globalization and national competition, many countries seek to the transformation of their administrative systems. They utilize the government operative model with the concept of compression and modern business concept. Non-departmental Public Body lying between corporation and government makes carrying out policies more flexible. On one hand, NDPB apply the business management to intensify the operative flexibility and promote the national competition. On the other hand, it can promote the efficiency of the government with flexible organization and creative professionals to simplify the process. The Executive Yuan of the Republic of China amended a draft about planning the organizational transformation in which there will be combination of nine testing government organizations in order to transform to NDPB style to promote Taiwan¡¦s research standard, increase our agricultural competitive strength and confront the challenge of join WTO. Therefore, the policy of NDPB for national agricultural research administration has already been included into prior drafts of a proposed law. At the same time, the government appoints agriculture association to strengthen the declaration, especially adopt the principle with which employees will get the promise ensuring their rights and interests. Besides, they must make related people fully understand the policy in order to avoid unnacessary misunderstanding. This research takes the livestock products testing institute for example to investigate the influence of NDPB, including the extent of employees¡¦morale and the overall organizational performance. Fist, I make appointment with some specialists from all aspects, and then according to the result of the interviews with those professionals, I make a poll to investigate and analyze IV opinions and acceptance of related employees after NDPB to benefit the government to develop related measures. The main reaserch outcome is that NDPB will lead to uncertainty and change which influence employees¡¦job security and organization commitment affecting organizational performance. Especially, policy changes resulting from NDPB will lead to the changes of employees¡¦ attitude, such as the change of subsidy policy in which every institution has to expand their financial resource by itself after NDPB. Totally distinct policies will positively lead to job insecurity and hold back the efforts which will affect the most important thing, the performance.

Job loss and unemployment have been consistently shown to have deleterious consequences for health. However, less is known about how insecure employment experiences and the threat of job loss influence well-being. Given the high levels of uncertainty associated with threatened and insecure employment, perceptions of job insecurity are thought to constitute a potent form of work stress because the ambiguity over a future undesirable event—job loss—undermines coping strategies and attempts at stress reduction. It has been suggested, then, that health penalties should be greatest with prolonged exposure to this threat. Further, since the meaning of job loss likely varies across working life, individual reactions may be contingent on life course position. Drawing from the Stress Process Model and the life course perspective, this dissertation explores whether the two factors of timing and duration influence the health penalties associated with perceived job insecurity, along with its impact on personality traits that are fundamental to well-being. iii Findings reveal the detrimental social-psychological and health implications of perceived job insecurity based on a national panel study of American workers surveyed in 2005 and 2007. Health penalties associated with perceived job insecurity are greatest for middle age workers reporting prolonged exposure to the threat of job loss. In addition, a personality trait—a high sense of personal control over one’s life—is demonstrated to alleviate the stress of perceived job insecurity; but this trait is itself prone to erosion with prolonged exposure to insecure employment. Collectively, this dissertation contributes to knowledge about the social-psychological processes through which insecure employment impacts individual well-being, and how these processes are shaped by age as a key social status and life course marker.

Job loss and unemployment have been consistently shown to have deleterious consequences for health. However, less is known about how insecure employment experiences and the threat of job loss influence well-being. Given the high levels of uncertainty associated with threatened and insecure employment, perceptions of job insecurity are thought to constitute a potent form of work stress because the ambiguity over a future undesirable event—job loss—undermines coping strategies and attempts at stress reduction. It has been suggested, then, that health penalties should be greatest with prolonged exposure to this threat. Further, since the meaning of job loss likely varies across working life, individual reactions may be contingent on life course position. Drawing from the Stress Process Model and the life course perspective, this dissertation explores whether the two factors of timing and duration influence the health penalties associated with perceived job insecurity, along with its impact on personality traits that are fundamental to well-being. iii Findings reveal the detrimental social-psychological and health implications of perceived job insecurity based on a national panel study of American workers surveyed in 2005 and 2007. Health penalties associated with perceived job insecurity are greatest for middle age workers reporting prolonged exposure to the threat of job loss. In addition, a personality trait—a high sense of personal control over one’s life—is demonstrated to alleviate the stress of perceived job insecurity; but this trait is itself prone to erosion with prolonged exposure to insecure employment. Collectively, this dissertation contributes to knowledge about the social-psychological processes through which insecure employment impacts individual well-being, and how these processes are shaped by age as a key social status and life course marker.

Several factors have contributed to employment relations gradually becoming more uncertain in the last decades. In South Africa, as well as in other industrialised economies all over the world, organisations had to adjust to the pressures imposed by an intensified global competition. The transformation of working life has brought the topic of insecure working conditions to the forefront. Job insecurity are of vital importance in modern working life. A growing number of employees face the risk of losing their jobs as a consequence of organisational restructuring and layoffs. Job insecurity affects the well-being of individuals. In this sense, job insecurity is a significant stressor with consequences for the individual. However, the consequences are not limited to just the individual. The situation is often such that individuals experiencing job insecurity also tend to react to the dissatisfying circumstances in ways that affect the organisation as well. Several studies have found a negative association between job insecurity and job satisfaction. Job insecurity s also associated with lower levels of organisational commitment. The empirical objectives of this thesis were firstly to validate the Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ) and Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) for employees in selected organisations in South Africa; secondly to determine its construct equivalence for different cultural groups; thirdly, to determine differences between the job insecurity and job satisfaction levels of various demographic groups, fourthly to assess the relationship between job insecurity, job satisfaction and organisational commitment, and lastly to determine whether job insecurity can predict job satisfaction and organisational commitment. A cross-sectional survey design with a random sample (N = 834) of employees in selected organisations in South Africa was used. The Job Insecurity Questionnaire, the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the measuring instruments in terms of mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis. Cronbach alpha coefficients were used to describe the reliability of the measuring instruments. Construct (structural) equivalence was computed to compare the factor structure for the different culture groups included in this study. Exploratory factor analysis with a Procrustean target rotation was used to determine the construct equivalence of the JIQ and MSQ for the different culture groups. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between the measuring instruments. Regression analyses were used to determine whether organisational commitment can be predicted by the independent variables namely, affective job insecurity; cognitive job insecurity; extrinsic job satisfaction; intrinsic job satisfaction; age; gender, and qualification. The results confirmed a two-factor model of job insecurity, consisting of affective and cognitive job insecurity. The scales showed acceptable internal consistencies. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations confirmed the construct equivalence of scales for white and black participants. Practically significant differences were found between the levels of job insecurity of employees in terms of age groups and qualification levels. Furthermore, the results confirmed a two-factor model of job satisfaction, consisting of extrinsic job satisfaction and intrinsic job satisfaction. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations confirmed the construct equivalence of scales for the black and white groups. The results obtained from comparing job satisfaction levels of various demographic groups showed that practically significant differences existed between the job satisfaction of different age and race groups. Results revealed significant relationships between job insecurity and job satisfaction. The multiple regression analysis indicated that 24% of the variance in organisational commitment was explained by affective job insecurity, cognitive job insecurity; extrinsic job satisfaction; intrinsic job satisfaction; age; gender and qualification. Limitations of the research are discussed, followed by recommendations for the selected organisations and for future research / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.