Although accumulating research indicates that negative expectations about interracial interactions undermine the quality of such interactions, little research has examined the factors that moderate the influence of negative expectations on responses to interracial interactions. We propose that individuals who endorse work-related ideologies such as the Protestant work ethic (PWE) expect that outcomes in interracial interactions should be contingent upon individual effort. As a result, such individuals are hypothesized to respond in a negative manner when they believe that regardless of their effort in an interracial interaction, interaction partners will respond negatively to them (termed negative response expectancies). Consistent with this hypothesis, negative response expectancies led to an increased desire to avoid interracial interactions (Studies 1a and 1b) and more antisocial behavior directed at an interracial interaction partner among individuals who strongly endorsed the PWE (Study 2). Across the studies, effects of negative response expectancies were relatively weaker or non-significant among individuals lower in the PWE. The implications of these findings for understanding the interplay between the PWE and expectancies in interracial interactions are discussed.

M.Ed.

The problem addressed in this study pertained to the prevailing attitudes toward work and the relationship between religious orientation and work ethic dimensions. The study probed the most frequent or very common attitudes toward work among students in the Teacher Education Program at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and explored whether religion affected the work ethic characteristics. Work ethic dimensions were referred to as Self-Reliance, Morality/Ethics, Hard Work, Leisure, Centrality to Work, Wasted time and Delay of Gratification. Religiosity was presented from the point of view of its expressions relating to human society and its members' practical life including occupation, economy and work rather than the essence of the religion. Results indicated that Teacher Education Program students who participated in this study portrayed a strong work ethic in dimensions of Morality/Ethics, Hard Work, Delay of gratification, and Centrality of work. Students reflected a weaker work ethic in regards to Wasted Time, Self-Reliance and Leisure (Anti-Leisure). In regards to religious relations to work ethic dimensions, the results piloted a proposal that religious orientation had an inconsequential relationship to the work ethic dimensions measured in this study. These associations remained stronger for the religious oriented rather than the non-religious oriented. This study was extremely descriptive and exploratory. As such, the prevailing work ethic dimensions and the relationship between religiosity and work ethic dimensions were extremely tentative and applicable only to the subjects involved in this study and revealed the need for further research.

Thesis (doctoral)--Åbo akademi, 1994. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 295-331).

This dissertation examined the relationship between personality, individual values, work values and conditions of performance. The objective of this study was to determine what motivational constructs predict a smaller differential between performance outcomes under typical conditions of performance versus maximum conditions of performance. This study examined four research questions. 1) Is there a relationship between personality traits and conditions of performance? 2) Is there a relationship between individual values and conditions of performance? 3) Is there a relationship between work values and conditions of performance? 4) Which of the overall relationships are more highly correlated? Sackett et al. (1988) characterized maximum performance as evidenced when three conditions are met: 1) there must be explicit awareness that one is being evaluated, 2) there must be awareness of and acceptance of implicit or explicit instructions to maximize effort, and 3) performance must be measured over a short enough duration that the performer's attention remains focused on achieving maximum performance. Conversely, typical performance would be characterized by situations in which individuals were not cognizant of any performance evaluation, were not attempting to perform to the best of their ability, and in which performance was monitored over an extended period of time (Sackett et al., 1988). In this study, FFM personality traits of were proposed to correlate with a differential in performance outcomes between the two conditions of performance. Similarly, individual values of conformity, stimulation, hedonism, benevolence and achievement were proposed to correlate with a similar differential in performance. A specific set of work Values drawn from the Protestant Work Ethic were also proposed to correlate with a performance differential. The results of this research suggested performance outcomes do significantly vary under each performance condition, but that the results are highly correlated (.620 with p-value < .05). Individuals who perform at a superior level under conditions of typical performance also perform at a higher level under conditions of maximum performance as well. The study did not find support for the expected relationships between personality traits, individual values or work values and outcomes between conditions of typical and maximum performance.

Pentecostalism has grown from its founding days in 1900 in Topeka, USA and has extended its reach to most parts the world including Africa where it took off in the 1970s and continues to grow with many mega churches being established. In addition to their main role of taking care of the spiritual development of their followers, many Pentecostal churches have begun to get involved in provision of social and economic goods and services. This has however attracted attention to the churches with some of them being labelled as businesses, their founders being considered as entrepreneurs hiding under the guise of churches and seen as exploiting their followers. The purpose of the thesis is to explore, through research questions, if entrepreneurial activities are carried out in the Pentecostal churches in Uganda and if so, whether such activities can be considered productive, unproductive or destructive entrepreneurship and what their implications are. This qualitative study employed qualitative methods of data collection and deductive approach with primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with 6 members of Pentecostal churches in Kampala and 1 non-member that regularly goes to Pentecostal churches to get a feel of their activities. The findings show that there the Pentecostal churches carryout a number of entrepreneurial activities that address spiritual, social and economic aspects of the church members and the community. The study further shows that some of these entrepreneurial activities have a positive impact on the church members and the community and by extension the state whereas some activities do not improve the church members and the community and others have a negative impact on the church members and the community. It is shown through this thesis that determining the implication of the entrepreneurial activities is complicated when such activities are lumped together and not considered individually since some of the activities in the Pentecostal may be productive while some may be unproductive or destructive. The contribution of this thesis is by proposing a matrix as an alternative tool for analysis of the various entrepreneurial activities in the Pentecostal churches by considering their effect on different stakeholders to determine if the activity achieved the reason for its establishment.

This thesis reports a study of work ethic values, beliefs and attitudes held by medical professionals in selected hospitals in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was in response to the public outcry about the declining work ethic and poor service delivery in South Africa’s healthcare sector. Scholarly interest in the work ethic and its role in economic development dates back to Max Weber’s classical work, which was the starting point for my study. The German economic sociologist published his seminal essay on The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in 1904/1905. Since that time, Weber’s ideas on the Protestant work ethic continue to inform and influence studies of the contemporary work ethic, which is thought to have become secularised. My study was informed by data collected in 2009 through a questionnaire survey and personal interviews. A total of 174 doctors and nurses, working in four urban, periurban and rural hospitals near East London, completed a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire replicated the Multi-Dimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) developed by Miller, Woehr and Hudspeth in 2001/2002. The instrument examines seven critical dimensions of the work ethic, namely self-reliance, morality, (foregoing) leisure, hard work, centrality of work in life, not wasting time, and delay of gratification. In addition, I conducted personal interviews in the same four hospitals with 41 hospital managers, doctors, nurses, and patients to discuss their understanding of the work ethic and its practical application. The study found that both doctors’ and nurses’ overall work ethic scores on the MWEP scale were above average. Although there was no significant difference between the overall work ethic scores of the two professions, doctors scored significantly higher than nurses on the ‘hard work’ and ‘self reliance’ dimensions of the work ethic scale. In the qualitative study, the doctors’ work ethic was rated much more highly than the nurses’ by their superiors and patients; and the work ethic of nurses in the urban hospitals was rated much lower than that of their rural colleagues. In contradiction to the idea of the secularization of the contemporary work ethic, religiosity and religious beliefs were influential in the endorsement of work ethic principles. In line with the notion that ‘happy’ workers are more productive, job and life satisfaction were found to be strong correlates of the work ethic of medical professionals.

A number of publications on the well-being of Native Hawaiians report high unemployment levels, high poverty levels, and minimal educational achievement in the population with theoretical origins attributed to the advent of a Western market economy. However, there are no studies that analyze the relationship between work ethic and retention, or satisfaction and retention in the Native Hawaiians working in this economy. Understanding the aforementioned relationships could help state and federal agencies focus spending on interventions that lead to productive employment solutions for Native Hawaiians. This quantitative study tested Weber's protestant work ethic theory to compare the work ethic of an individual to his or her retention at work, and Herzberg et al.'s motivation-hygiene theory to compare the job satisfaction levels of an individual to his or her retention at work. Data were collected from individuals 18 years and older who self-identified as Native Hawaiian. Six hundred survey responses were successfully collected from various members of the Native Hawaiian Civic Clubs, of which 419 were complete. Correlation analyses were conducted between the independent variable of work ethic and the dependent variable of worker retention, the independent variable of work ethic and the dependent variable of job satisfaction, and the independent variable of job satisfaction and the dependent variable of worker retention. While no significant relationships were found, this study successfully eliminated variables previously theorized as contributors to the population's low employment rate, thus encouraging future exploration of applicable theories that can lead to more relevant and appropriate employment interventions for Native Hawaiians.

In this research project the research participants and I embarked on a journey through the "desert" of unemployment. I was introduced to the research participants at Jacob's Well, a ministry for people "between jobs" The effects of unemployment on a male's identity were explored, as well as the pastoral response of caregivers to people "between jobs". A phenomenological study was undertaken in which interviews with the participants formed the basis of the research. The structured section of the interviews was guided by the research questions, but the largest part of the interviews was about the participants' personal journeys "between jobs." The role of a ministry like Jacob's Well, catering for people "between jobs", was highlighted and recommendations for practical theology and pastoral praxis were made. / Practical Theolgy / M.Th. (Practical Theology with specialiisation in Pastoral Therapy)

In this research project the research participants and I embarked on a journey through the "desert" of unemployment. I was introduced to the research participants at Jacob's Well, a ministry for people "between jobs" The effects of unemployment on a male's identity were explored, as well as the pastoral response of caregivers to people "between jobs". A phenomenological study was undertaken in which interviews with the participants formed the basis of the research. The structured section of the interviews was guided by the research questions, but the largest part of the interviews was about the participants' personal journeys "between jobs." The role of a ministry like Jacob's Well, catering for people "between jobs", was highlighted and recommendations for practical theology and pastoral praxis were made. / Practical Theolgy / M.Th. (Practical Theology with specialiisation in Pastoral Therapy)