Exploring a prevalent yet under-researched phenomenon in organizations, we examine the effect of multi-source negative gossip (i.e., gossip from coworkers and supervisors) on targets’ strategic behavioral responses. Drawing on appraisal theory of emotion, we propose that negative gossip from coworkers and supervisors interactively affect targets’ anger and shame. These discrete emotions, in turn, lead to distinct strategic behavioral responses of gossip targets: social undermining and exemplification, respectively. In Study 1, we tested our hypotheses with a three-wave, time-lagged survey among 500 (...) Chinese employees; in Study 2, we conducted a scenario experiment with 479 international employees. Supporting our theorizing, negative gossip from coworkers was associated with stronger feelings of anger when negative gossip from supervisors was lower (vs. higher), which led to social undermining of coworkers. Negative gossip from coworkers was associated with stronger feelings of shame when negative gossip from supervisors was higher (vs. lower), which led to exemplification of socially desirable behavior. Overall, investigating the phenomenon of multi-source gossip within organizations, we document emotional and behavioral responses of targets to multi-source negative gossip and discuss their theoretical and practical implications, as well as future avenues for research. (shrink)

This study draws on the substitutes for leadership theory to investigate the association of strengths-based leadership with employee turnover intention and the mediating role of felt obligation for constructive change and the moderating role of job control in the linkage. Data were collected using a three-wave survey from a sample of 317 employees working in a variety of enterprises in China. The multiple regression analyses with bootstrapping procedure were utilized to examine the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that strengths-based leadership (...) negatively relates to turnover intention and felt obligation for constructive change partially mediates the relationship between strengths-based leadership and turnover intention. Furthermore, job control, acting as a substitute for strengths-based leadership, negatively moderates the indirect relationship between strengths-based leadership and turnover intention via felt obligation for constructive change. This study contributes to the literature of strengths-based leadership and the substitutes for leadership theory by enhancing our understanding of the effect of job control. (shrink)

Schistosomes are parasitic blood flukes, responsible for significant human disease in tropical and developing nations. Here we review information on the organization of the cytoskeleton and associated motor proteins of schistosomes, with particular reference to the organization of the syncytial tegument, a unique cellular adaptation of these and other neodermatan flatworms. Extensive EST databases show that the molecular constituents of the cytoskeleton and associated molecular systems are likely to be similar to those of other eukaryotes, although there are potentially some (...) molecules unique to schistosomes and platyhelminths. The biology of some components, particular those contributing to host–parasite interactions as well as chemotherapy and immunotherapy are discussed. Unresolved questions in relation to the structure and function of the tegument relate to dynamic organization of the syncytial layer. BioEssays 26:752–765, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Reading disability has been considered as a disconnection syndrome. Recently, an increasing number of studies have emphasized the role of subcortical regions in reading. However, the majority of research on reading disability has focused on the connections amongst brain regions within the classic cortical reading network. Here, we used graph theoretical analysis to investigate whether subcortical regions serve as hubs during reading both in Chinese children with reading disability and in age-matched typically developing children using a visual rhyming judgment task (...) and a visual meaning judgment task. We found that the bilateral thalami were the unique hubs for typically developing children across both tasks. Additionally, subcortical regions were also unique hubs for typically developing children but only in the rhyming task. Among these subcortical hub regions, the left pallidum showed reduced connectivity with inferior frontal regions in the rhyming judgment but not semantic task in reading disabled compared with typically developing children. These results suggest that subcortical-cortical disconnection, which may be particularly relevant to the phonological and phonology-related learning process, may be associated with Chinese reading disability. (shrink)

Although the dominant view in the literature suggests that work-related anxiety experienced by employees affects their behavior and performance, little research has focused on how and when leaders’ workplace anxiety affects their followers’ job performance. Drawing from Emotions as Social Information theory, we propose dual mechanisms of cognitive interference and emotional exhaustion to explain the relationship between leader workplace anxiety and subordinate job performance. Specifically, cognitive interference is the mechanism that best explains the link between leader workplace anxiety and follower (...) task performance, while emotional exhaustion is the mechanism that best explains the link between leader workplace anxiety and follower contextual performance. Additionally, we examine how follower epistemic motivation serves as a boundary condition for the effect of leader anxiety on follower performance outcomes. Results from a 2-wave study of 228 leader-follower dyads in a high-tech company mostly supported our theoretical model. We conclude the study with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of our findings. (shrink)