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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Western University

2015

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Social Networking Sites And Personnel Selection: An Initial Validity Assessment, Travis J. Schneider Dec 2015

Social Networking Sites And Personnel Selection: An Initial Validity Assessment, Travis J. Schneider

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this dissertation was to add to the literature on the use of social networking sites (SNSs) for personnel selection. The first goal was to evaluate whether SNSs have the potential to be used as a valid source of information for selection. Specific SNS Indicator scales were created to test whether they have better validity evidence than the more traditionally-used Global SNS Rating. In a study of 141 undergraduate students at a large Canadian university, the Specific SNS Indicators demonstrated fairly weak evidence of interrater reliability, but some evidence of structural validity, and construct validity (convergent and discriminant). …

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The Perils Of Project-Based Work: Attempting Resistance To Extreme Work Practices In Video Game Development, Amanda Peticca-Harris, Johanna Weststar, Steve Mckenna Jun 2015

The Perils Of Project-Based Work: Attempting Resistance To Extreme Work Practices In Video Game Development, Amanda Peticca-Harris, Johanna Weststar, Steve Mckenna

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

This article examines two blogs written by the spouses of game developers about extreme and exploitative working conditions in the video game industry and the associated reader comments. The wives of these video game developers and members of the game community decry these working conditions and challenge dominant ideologies about making games. This article contributes to the work intensification literature by challenging the belief that long hours are necessary and inevitable to make successful games, discussing the negative toll of extreme work on workers and their families, and by highlighting that the project-based structure of game development both creates extreme …

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Understanding Video Game Developers As An Occupational Community, Johanna Weststar Apr 2015

Understanding Video Game Developers As An Occupational Community, Johanna Weststar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

The video game industry has rapidly expanded over the last four decades; yet there is limited research about the workers who make video games. In examining these workers, this article responds to calls for renewed attention to the role of the occupation in understanding project-based workers in boundaryless careers. Specifically, this article uses secondary analysis of online sources to demonstrate that video game developers can be understood as a unique social group called an occupational community (OC). Once this classification has been made, the concept of OC can be used in future research to understand video game workers in terms …

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Enterprising Outsiders: Livelihood Strategies Of Cape Town’S Forced Migrants, Madeleine Ann Northcote Apr 2015

Enterprising Outsiders: Livelihood Strategies Of Cape Town’S Forced Migrants, Madeleine Ann Northcote

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although refugees and registered asylum-seekers have a legal right to work in South Africa, research shows that prevailing anti-immigrant attitudes and South African employers’ suspicion of these migrants’ documents makes employment extraordinarily difficult to acquire. This thesis investigates how, in the face of such challenges, forced migrants in Cape Town secure their day-to-day livelihoods. The research is based on semi-structured, open-ended interviews with thirty-two refugees and other forced migrants who live and operate in the Cape Town area, as well as five key informant interviews with employees of refugee service organizations. It also draws from literature on both South Africa’s …

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The Capacity For Mobilization In Project-Based Cultural Work: A Case Of The Video Game Industry, Marie-Josee Legault, Johanna Weststar Jan 2015

The Capacity For Mobilization In Project-Based Cultural Work: A Case Of The Video Game Industry, Marie-Josee Legault, Johanna Weststar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

Though dissatisfied with some management practices and working conditions, like most high-tech knowledge workers, videogame developers remain reluctant towards unionization. This article examines the factors of collective action among developers as an example, using data gathered from an international survey and interviews. We conclude that developers meet some conditions conducive to collective action but face many obstacles as well, both to collective action and to unionization proper. This does not lead us to share the belief of a decline in collective action, but rather raises the issue of conflating union action and collective action. Our study reveals how unsuited the …

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Work Hour Congruence: The Effect On Job Satisfaction And Absenteeism, Bryon Y. Lee, Jing Wang, Johanna Weststar Jan 2015

Work Hour Congruence: The Effect On Job Satisfaction And Absenteeism, Bryon Y. Lee, Jing Wang, Johanna Weststar

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

This study examines the effect of work hour congruence on employee job satisfaction and absenteeism using a large, longitudinal sample from the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey (WES). An employee is said to have work hour congruence when they actually work the number of hours that they desire. Results indicate a difference between employees who desire more hours and those who desire fewer hours: employee desire for and receipt of more hours was related to positive changes in job satisfaction, while employee desire for and receipt of fewer hours was related to reduced absenteeism. In addition, the results suggest that …

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