Darryl Forsyth

A pet for the children: factors related to family pet ownership

ABSTRACTThe demographic variables related to pet ownership in New Zealand families of 8–12 -year-olds were investigated. Questionnaire surveys were used to establish data from 312 families of primary school children. Family composition, reasons for pet acquisition, and the advantages and disadvantages of pets were also examined. Almost 90% of families owned at least one pet, and over half of these families included a child who was the sole owner of a pet. Parental employment level, living locality, and sibling status (number and position) were related to pet ownership. Parents acquired pets for their children mainly to teach responsibility and care, or because their child had asked for the pet, and these reasons were related to sibling status. Perceived advantages of pet ownership included teaching responsibility and care, love, respect and affection, and companionship. Over half the sample claimed no disadvantages of pet ownership. The most common disadvantages were finding holiday care, the time and wor...

Allocating time to future tasks: The effect of task segmentation on planning fallacy bias

The scheduling component of the time management process was used as a (“paradigm”) to investigate the allocation of time to future tasks. In three experiments, we compared task time allocation for a single task with the summed time allocations given for each subtask that made up the single task. In all three, we found that allocated time for a single task was significantly smaller than the summed time allocated to the individual subtasks. We refer to this as the segmentation effect. In Experiment 3, we asked participants to give estimates by placing a mark on a time line, and found that giving time allocations in the form of rounded close approximations probably does not account for the segmentation effect. We discuss the results in relation to the basic processes used to allocate time to future tasks and the means by which planning fallacy bias might be reduced.

Categorical Ethnicity and Mental Health Literacy in New Zealand

Objective. Public social policies in New Zealand assume that there are fundamental differences between Maori views of health phenomena and non‐Maori perceptions. The biomedical model and a Maori model known as Te Whare Tapa Wha are commonly employed to characterise these differences. Using the categorical ethnicity demarcation ‘Maori/non‐Maori’ we investigate this claim with respect to mental health literacy about depression. Design. Participants were randomly selected from the General and Maori Electoral Rolls and recruited by post (N=205). A vignette methodology was employed and involved the development of a fictional character as a target stimulus who exhibited the minimum DSM‐IV‐R criteria for a major depressive disorder. Participants responded to items regarding problem recognition, well‐being, causal attributions, treatment preferences, and likely prognosis. Results. The majority of Maori and non‐Maori participants correctly identified the problem the vignette character was experiencing and nominated congruent attributions for the causes of the problem. In relation to treatment strategies and likely prognosis, independent of self‐assigned ethnicity, participants rated professional treatments above alternative options. Overall the categorical ethnicity distinction ‘Maori and non‐Maori’ produced no systematic variation with regards to individual evaluative responses about a major depressive disorder. Conclusions. Contrary to the embedded assumption within New Zealands public health strategies that there are essential differences between the way Maori and non‐Maori view health problems, and that the categorical ethnicity demarcation reliably reflects these differences, we found no evidence for the veracity of this claim using a major depressive disorder as a target for judgements. Alternative explanations are canvassed as to why this assumption about fundamental differences based on categorical ethnicity has gained ascendancy and prominence within the sphere of New Zealand health.

Understanding workplace violence: the value of a systems perspective.

Workplace violence is a leading form of occupational injury and fatality, but has received little attention from the ergonomics research community. The paper reports findings from the 2012 New Zealand Workplace Violence Survey, and examines the workplace violence experience of 86 New Zealand organisations and the perceptions of occupational health and safety professionals from a systems perspective. Over 50% of respondents reported violence cases in their organisation, with perpetrators evenly split between co-workers and external sources such as patients. Highest reported levels of violence were observed for agriculture, forestry and construction sectors. Highest risk factor ratings were reported for interpersonal and organisational factors, notably interpersonal communication, time pressure and workloads, with lowest ratings for environmental factors. A range of violence prevention measures were reported, although most organisations relied on single control measures, suggesting unmanaged violence risks were common among the sample.

Workplace bullying complaints: lessons for “good HR practice”

Purpose Current research provides an incomplete picture of the challenges facing human resource personnel (HRP) tasked with managing a workplace bullying complaint. The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic model of the complaint management process in order to advance the theorising of HRP’s role in this important process, and the challenges they face in undertaking it. Design/methodology/approach Cases of workplace bullying heard before the legal system were analysed – a novel data source in research on workplace bullying. Thematic analysis was undertaken on the case determinations to identify the challenges HRP faced that prevented the resolution of the complaint. Findings The analysis indicated two key phases in the complaints management process with five associated challenges. The first two challenges were related to HRP’s ability to assess the substance of the complaint. HRP’s ability or inability to “sort out” conflicting accounts and to follow the process saw the complaint follow one of three “resolution pathways”. Three further challenges were associated with HRP communicating the outcome to the complainant. Failure to overcome these challenges left the complainant aggrieved at the unfairness in which their complaint had been handled – triggering legal action. Originality/value This paper draws on a novel data source to provide a holistic model of the complaint management process related to workplace bullying which details the various components and challenges related to HRP throughout the process. Alongside advancing theory, this research has practical value for improving HR practice.

You’re in; you’re out: selection practices of coaches

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate athlete selection procedures implemented by 25 provincial and national level coaches in New Zealand. One of the main focuses of the study was the degree to which workplace human resource management (HRM) selection practices were utilised, or could have been beneficial, for athlete selection. As many selection controversies have been caused by unclear or unspecified selection procedures, the study focused on discovering what processes coaches utilised when selecting athletes and, importantly, to what degree these processes were communicated to athletes.Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected via semi‐structured interviews and interpreted using thematic analysis which enabled the extraction of the major recurring themes.Findings – Although the majority of coaches supported the use of HRM selection processes, only six reported implementing HRM type practices. Overall, the study found that coaches on the whole did not fully utilise HRM select...

Time Management and the Full-Time Sportsperson: Increasing Individual Perceptions of Time Control

For the full-time athlete, effective time management can contribute to sporting success as well as helping them to avoid harmful effects to their psychological well-being. One important source of tension and potential stress lies in the difficulty sportspeople and their families have in recognising and establishing the boundaries between work time and ‘non-work’ time Utilising a process model of time management, this paper maintains that the goal of any time management initiative should be to enhance the individuals perception of time control. Building on this insight and drawing on applied research in the fields of psychology and organisation studies, strategies for effective time management are discussed. However, in contrast to many ‘self-help’ books in this area, this paper does not simply advocate one ‘correct’ way to manage time but contends that any potential strategy should be used in conjunction with the individuals preference for organisation