This dissertation examines the effect of stress on the service quality of the call centre employees. Stress is a much known phenomenon in every industry, but in this dissertation the researcher evaluated its impact on call centre employee’s service quality performance. It has been widely recognised that stress at work can result in a host of adverse outcomes for both employees and organisations (Nigam et al, 2003). The literature related to the stress and its impact on service quality in call centre industry will explored many factors and situations which work as job stressors in call centre industry and how they affect the service quality. The following research also focuses on the issues related to employee safety and health and how those stressful conditions making employees emotional exhausted. The study also sought various management interventions to find the solution for the stress reducing schemes in order to give relief to its employees so they can perform in much better environment. The research methodology used in this dissertation includes research philosophy, research approach, and research strategy, sampling design and data collection methods. The data was collected by using quantitative questions questionnaires which will help researcher to reach a conclusion. Based on the data analysis findings, conclusion has been drawn which will help to support the laid hypothesis of the research. Recommendations also have been made on the basis of result generated for future research in the same area and also guiding the management to take recommended action to sort out the problems related to stress in call centre industry.

Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects numerous aspects of people’s lives, particularly social skills associated with understanding and interacting with others. AS is similar to High-Functioning Autism (HFA); clinicians and researchers often consider these concurrently, as here, although there is a greater focus on AS in this paper. Individuals with AS/HFA appear to be at a greater risk of ‘psychiatric co-morbidity as they transition from childhood to adulthood. The revie~ :paper considers possible barriers to a successful transition through adolescence such ;as social skills, stigma, bullying and adjustment. The empirical paper presents a qualitative study designed to understand some of these barriers faced by adolescents (aged 12-18) with ASIHFA Results indicate that the participants progress through a process of discovering the meaning of AS/HFA and that this is affected by other issues such as managing the label and experiencing stigma, bullying and difficulties with friendships.

In recent years there has been increased focus on vulnerability and abuse however greater attention has been paid to this in relation to children, elders and in domestic situations. Within learning disability service there has been increasing attention on physical and sexual abuse as well as attention being given to abuse as it is perceived by people with learning disabilities. The aim of this study was to explore the views of staff working within learning disability services regarding their views of vulnerability and abuse. A phenomenological approach was adopted, as this is a subject about which little is known and the lived experiences of care staff and the meanings that they attach to them were being explored. Semi-structured interview was the chosen method for data collection. Twenty informants shared their views in this study. The data generated were themed and the findings were presented in two different but complementary styles: case studies and themes representative across the entire sample. This research has highlighted a number of important issues. There is considerable difference in the meanings given to vulnerability by care staff and the range of meanings are further complicated when notions of risk are considered. A model is presented that illustrates experiences of vulnerability and confidence of the individual the impact of various experiences on those states. For example negative experience of bullying might increase vulnerability whilst positive family support might engender feelings of confidence. The study showed that staff are more influenced by personal and family values than by policy. Though this study focused on adult protection policy it was evident that this also applied in the case of other policy. The strong influence of personal values pervades all aspects of care. This was evident in the views of informants regarding abuse. Abuse is considered to range in severity from bullying, which is seen as prevalent but to an extent unpreventable, to sexual abuse which is considered by most to be taboo. Neglect and infringement of rights were in the main not seen as abuse with both being attributed to ignorance. Power, authority and/or control are felt to be essential in the management behaviour that challenges and is justified to that end. In the context of adult protection a model for safety planning is proposed that shifts the emphasis away from risk avoidance toward an enabling person centred approach that recognises the importance to the individual of excitement in life that also may involve risk.

The original research carried out in a range of arts organisations in the UK included employees at every level within both commercial and subsidised performing arts organisations in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This thesis is based around five studies examining the psychology of interpersonal communication applied to organizational settings. The studies are designed to examine the question of how the way that people in positions of power in organizations communicate with subordinates, affects various measures of health, wellbeing and productivity. It is impossible to study modern organisational communication without recognising the importance of electronic communication. The use of e-mail and other forms of text messaging is now ubiquitous in all areas of communication. The studies in this thesis include the use of e-mail as a medium of communication and examine some of the potential effects of electronic versus face-to-face and verbal communication. The findings of the studies support the basic hypothesis that: it is not what is said that matters but how it is said. The results showed that an unsupportive, formal, authoritarian style of verbal or written communication is likely to have a negative effect on health, well-being and productivity compared with a supportive, informal and egalitarian style. There are also indications that the effects of damaging communications may not be confined to the initial recipient of the message. Organizational communication does not take place in a vacuum. Any negative consequences are likely to be transmitted by the recipient, either back to the sender or on to other colleagues with implications for the wider organisational climate. These findings are based on communications that would not necessarily be immediately recognised as obviously offensive or bullying, or even uncivil. The effects of these relatively mild but unsupportive communications may have implications for the selection and training of managers. In the final section of the thesis there is a discussion of how examples of various electronically recorded messages might be used as training material.

The basic premise of appraisal theories of emotion is that the way people interpret a situation will be critical for their emotional response to it. The key hypothesis states that others’ emotional reactions to the same situation have an influence on this appraisal process such that people tend to adopt significant others’ appraisals and emotionally converge with them. The first set of 3 experiments (N = 240) established the occurrence of such social appraisal processes using a film-viewing paradigm. Participants observed a confederate’s videotaped reactions to film excerpts. In two of three studies they simultaneously watched the films themselves. For disgust and amusement, but not for sadness and anger, results revealed that participants were able to decode the confederate’s emotional state and related appraisals from her facial expressions ad that their own feelings and appraisals converged with her response. The subsequent 2 experiments (N = 242) investigated social appraisal processes in mediated and face-to-face dyadic interactions between naïve participants. These were either friends or strangers and either could or could not see each other while watching emotional film clips. For amusement, disgust, fear, and sadness, there was support for social influence processes. Convergence in emotional responding within dyads of friends who could see each other was most pronounced in the cases of amusement and disgust. Two online vignette experiments (N = 1,710) further explored the role of possible moderators of social appraisal, including social motives within the relationship, subjective certainty about what was happening, congruence with respect to the target situation, and informational advantage of the other person. Finally, the applied relevance of the findings in relation to emotion communication in the context of negotiations, school bullying, and mass media communication is discussed.

Background: Orphanhood is a major consequence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. There is little evidence concerning psychological problems for AIDS-orphaned children. This thesis explores the relationship between orphanhood status and mental health. It also examines mediating influences of environmental risk and protective factors, and interactions between factors, on children’s psychological problems. Methods: 1200 isiXhosa-speaking children were interviewed, using standardised questionnaires, in deprived urban settlements of Cape Town. A qualitative stage with 60 AIDS-orphaned children, 42 caregivers and 20 professionals explored participant perceptions of risk and protective factors. A quantitative stage compared 1025 AIDS-orphaned children to control groups of other-orphans and non-orphans. Data were analysed with t-tests, chi-sq, anovas, regression and log-linear analyses. The study took place in collaboration with Cape Town Child Welfare. Results: AIDS-orphaned children reported more depression (p<.001), peer relationship problems (p<.001), post-traumatic stress (p<.001), suicidal ideation (p<.05), delinquency (p<.001) and conduct problems (p<.001) than other-orphans and non-orphans. Anxiety showed no differences. Compared to Western norms, AIDS-orphaned children showed higher levels of internalising problems and delinquency, but lower levels of conduct problems. These differences remained when controlling for socio-demographic factors. A number of factors strongly mediated the relationship between AIDS-orphanhood and mental health. These include poverty-related factors (food, education and social security, p<.001). caregiving-related factors (caregiver illness, p<.001, excessive housework p<.001, being a streetchild, p<.001) and AIDS-related stigma (p<.001). Cumulative effects were also found. Food insecurity and AIDS-related stigma interacted to raise likelihood of disorder from 19% to 83%, and orphanhood status and bullying interacted to raise likelihood from 12% to 76%. Conclusions: This thesis shows clear evidence of heightened psychological problems amongst AIDS-orphaned children. It also indicates mediating factors and points to areas of possible intervention. The South African Ministry of Social Development plans to scale up the study to a national survey of AIDS-orphanhood.

Literature on bullying in schools and other workplace bullying literature was reviewed to determine what is already known about bullying in the workplace. This study used an exploratory descriptive design and took a mixed method approach in four sequential phases. A tentative framework took a timeline (before/during/after) approach. In Phase One, in-depth telephone interviews were undertaken with midwives from practice and academia. In Phase Two a concept analysis using Walker and Avantâs (1995) framework provided a sound theoretical basis for the study. Phase Three confirmed, validated and contextualised the findings of the concept analysis through focus groups with practicing midwives, midwife managers, academic midwives and union representatives. A more substantial theory emerged at this stage. In order to develop a survey tool to measure the defining attributes of bullying, a self-administered questionnaire was developed, piloted and distributed to a convenience sample of student midwives (n=400) at a student conference. The response rate was 41% (n=164). This work confirmed the theoretical development comprehensively. Bullying in midwifery has now been identified, defined, validated and confirmed. The defining attributes were confirmed as being a repeated behaviour which had a negative effect on the victim and against which the victim found it difficult to defend themselves. Intention of the bully was also considered to be an important defining attribute with more than half of the student midwives who had been bullied (53%; n=31) perceiving the bullying behaviour experienced to be intentional.

Abuse and harm to individuals, through harassment and bullying, coexist with Identity Theft as criminal behaviours supported by the ready availability of personal information. Incorporating privacy protection measures into software design requires a thorough understanding about how an individual’s privacy is affected by Internet technologies. This research set out to incorporate such an understanding by examining privacy risks for two groups of individuals, for whom privacy was an important issue, domestic abuse survivors and teenagers. The purpose was to examine the reality of the privacy risks for these two groups. This research combined a number of approaches underpinned by a selection of foundation theories from four separate domains: software engineering; information systems; social science; and criminal behaviour. Semi-structured interviews, focus groups, workshops and questionnaires gathered information from managers of refuges and outreach workers from Women’s Aid; representatives from probation and police domestic violence units; and teenagers. The findings from these first interactions provided specific examples of risks posed to the two groups. These findings demonstrated that there was a need for a selection of protection mechanisms that promoted awareness of the potential risk among vulnerable individuals. Emerging from these findings were a set of concepts that formed the basis of a novel taxonomy of threat framework designed to assist in risk assessment. To demonstrate the crossover between understanding the social environment and the use of technology, the taxonomy of threat was incorporated into a novel Vulnerability Assessment Framework, which in turn provided a basis for an extension to standard browser technology. A proof-of-concept prototype was implemented by creating an Internet Explorer 7.0 browser helper object. The prototype also made use of the Semantic Web protocols of Resource Description Framework and the Web Ontology Language for simple data storage and reasoning. The purpose of this combination was to demonstrate how the environment in which the individual primarily interacted with the Internet could be adapted to provide awareness of the potential risk, and to enable the individual to take steps to reduce that risk. Representatives of the user-groups were consulted for evaluation of the acceptability of the prototype approach. The favourable ratings given by the respondents demonstrated the acceptability of such an approach to monitoring personal information, with the provision that control remained with the individual. The evaluation exercise also demonstrated how the prototype would serve as a useful tool to make individuals aware of the dangers. The novel contribution of this research contains four facets: it advances understanding of privacy protection for the individual; illustrates an effective combination of methodology frameworks to address the complex issue of privacy; provides a framework for risk assessment through the taxonomy of threat; and demonstrates the novel vulnerability assessment framework through a proof-of-concept prototype.

This multi-layered narrative inquiry focuses on the struggles of six counsellors to uphold ethical standards of practice, despite external pressures to the contrary. It is situated firmly within postmodern and constructivist traditions where both personal and social dimensions of the experiences are included; local and marginalised voices are privileged; and divisions between art, therapy and research are disrupted. The narratives were powerfully and evocatively told and, in the (re)presentation, I have endeavoured to maintain this evocative expression. This provides a compelling and unique insight into the disturbing nature of such pressure, which was considerable and unpleasant. It included bullying and intimidation, accompanied by efforts to malign the identity of the person. This is considered in relation to victim blaming discourses and impact on identity. The counsellors tended to hold values of relationship and responsibility to the individual, yet they felt unsupported and profoundly isolated throughout the critical period. This was compounded by the bullying as well as feelings of being personally culpable and shamed. The counselling profession is thus challenged to provide safe arenas for such experiences to be considered. In the retelling, their accounts become more complex and relational (including concern for the position of the powerful other). Links were made to early childhood experiences which the contributors felt to have been particularly constitutive of their ethical identity. Creative reflexive and autoethnographic practices similarly allowed the re-storying and reconstruction of researcher identity, and again invoked key constitutive experiences from early lived experience, some of which were profoundly personal. Assumed neutrality of researchers is thus comprehensively challenged, and the value of creative approaches to reflexive inquiry affirmed.

When reviewing the literature on workplace bullying it became evident that numerous studies had been conducted with the aim of identifying what expressions workplace bullying takes. Equally there had been a multitude of studies researching either targets of bullying or bullies. What seemed to be missing from the research was knowledge about bystanders, who are individuals that are often present in the workplace bullying situation. Therefore I decided to dedicate my second year research project to this topic, namely targets’ perception of bystanders. This study uses interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Smith, 2004) to investigate targets’ accounts of their experiences and refers to the studies on bystanding behaviour presented by Darley and Latané (1968). It was found that targets found that bystanding behaviour could sometimes be equated to bullying behaviour and that they even felt that supportive behaviour could be construed as a way of placating them rather than an effort to improve their situation. During my research it occurred to me that much of the studies in the field of workplace bullying had been undertaken using qualitative studies. I therefore felt compelled to see if I could use a quantitative method as this may result in information not possible to gain using qualitative techniques. The challenge was to find a quantitative technique that would still respect participants’ own subjective opinions. After much searching I found what I was looking for in the repertory grid technique (Jankowicz, 2004). I choose to investigate the nature of positive and negative relationships in the workplace bullying situation as it seemed to me that previous studies tended to focus only on negative behaviour in bullying situations. Whilst important, I felt that this area had been nearly exhausted. Furthermore I am aware that there is a considerable difficulty in rehabilitating bullying targets as well as their colleagues after the occurrence of workplace bullying. Therefore I felt it was appropriate to aim my research at gaining understanding what behaviour targets felt were supportive and useful. By knowing this it will be possible to design better interventions to combat workplace bullying.

This thesis examines the issue of sexual harassment on college campuses in Japan and measures taken both at official and grassroots levels to combat the problem. Using competing methodologies the: implications for both subjects and practitioners of researchers on sensitive subjects are analysed. Gender segregation in the Japanese school system, from the Meiji Restoration to the present day, is investigated in order to draw links between gender segregation, discrimination and the likelihood of sexual harassment at university level. Japanese legislation regarding sexual harassment is explored and the impact this has had on universities is examined. As a result of this new legislation universities were urged to establish guidelines and policies to protect themselves against both quidpro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment. The work of the ‘Campus Sexual Harassment National Network’, established by the late Professor Kazuko Watanabe, is investigated. Surveys conducted by individual universities and national research groups are analysed to assess the actual conditions of sexual harassment at universities and on campuses. Visual and non-visual preventative strategies undertaken by universities are investigated and the effectiveness of sexual harassment committees and counselling services within Japanese universities are examined.

This secondary study surveyed head teachers and interviewed nursery, primary and secondary teachers on their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to inclusion of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) pupils in one rural Scottish Education Authority.  The study focused on the understandings of masculinities and the silence on (homo) sexuality in the hidden and taught curriculum.  It further aimed to problematise institutional heterosexism. The outcomes of the survey indicated that reference to LGB pupils was missing in policy and generic policies were sufficient to deal with all aspects of equality.  All head teachers surveyed stated homophobic bullying would be dealt with in the same way as other kind of bullying. Whilst LGB pupils were perceived as ‘just the same’ as other pupils they were also depicted as victims in need of specialist support and engendered sympathy in teachers.  Whilst prejudice, attitudes, lack of knowledge and training was reported to be the main barriers to inclusion of LGB pupils some head teachers perceived being silent on the subject was respectful of individual privacy. Analysis of the survey indicated themes of assimilation, contradiction, and ambiguity, set within a liberal discourse of “we treat all pupils alike” “they are all the same”.  These themes were developed in more depth in the interview to reveal institutional heterosexism and structural barriers to teachers’ discourse on LGB pupils.  The data was organised into the following themes: ‘Gender roles and families’, ‘Moral Panic’, ‘Institutional heterosexism’.  The study revealed that whilst teachers aimed to treat all pupils alike they did so by treating them as though they were heterosexual.  As a consequence teachers seemed to lack the language to talk about different sexual orientations. This study suggests that there are structural and institutional barriers to inclusion of LGB pupils in school and limits to programmes of reform based on the individual, identity politics, and anti-oppressive approaches.  Nevertheless the outcome of this study indicates that for social change to occur anti-oppressive approaches remain the next stage in the process.

People are increasingly using the Internet and mobile phone technology to communicate with others in their daily lives. Despite researchers’ claims that cyber-harassment is becoming increasingly widespread, little is known about the phenomenon. This thesis adopted a mixed methods approach to gain a holistic understanding of the experience of cyber-harassment, how it is perceived by non-victims, and police officers’ perceptions of, and role in combating the crime. Although cyber-harassment is a crime within the UK, prosecuted using the Protection from Harassment Act (1997), few may perceive it as such due to the virtual nature of the perpetrator’s behaviour. Using data gathered in an online survey completed by 320 undergraduate students, principal axis factoring revealed three dimensions underlying perceived criminality of 18 cyber-harassing behaviours – deception/disclosure, harassing messages, and malicious software. Sending malicious software and harassing messages were perceived as criminal but participants were unsure about more ambiguous acts associated with deceiving or disclosing information to the victim. High Internet self-efficacious individuals (i.e., those who feel more in control of online interactions) were more likely than low Internet self-efficacious individuals to perceive malicious software as criminal. Low-agreeable individuals were more likely than high-agreeable individuals to perceive harassing messages as criminal. Whilst personality and Internet self-efficacy influenced perceived criminality for some cyber-harassing behaviours the findings were not consistent. However, females were more likely than males to perceive harassing messages and behaviours associated with deception/disclosure as criminal. Males were more likely than females to perceive sending malicious software as criminal. Participants reported experiencing a range of cyber-harassing behaviours and males were more likely than females to receive malicious software, be subscribed to unwanted services, receive abusive/threatening messages via the Internet, or to report that someone sent their friends/family/work colleagues email messages in an attempt to damage their reputation. Internet self-efficacious individuals were less likely to receive harassing messages via the Internet or be subscribed to unwanted services. Agreeable individuals were less likely to receive harassing messages to their phone, and neurotic individuals were unlikely to be subscribed to unwanted services. Participants’ ratings of upset following their experience of cyber-harassing behaviours were positively associated with the number of behaviours they experienced, and females were more upset than males. Personality and Internet self-efficacy were not associated with ratings of upset but upset was associated with specific behaviours, indicating that the nature of cyber-harassment was problematic for participants. Furthermore, interpretative phenomenological analysis of 12 victims’ experiences revealed the impact of cyber-harassment resembled PTSD-like symptoms, highlighting the detrimental impact cyber-harassment can have on victims. Despite the impact of cyber-harassment reported by victims, the qualitative research conducted for this thesis revealed that the virtual nature of their experiences caused confusion, as they struggled to understand whether their experiences were real in comparison to their offline experiences. The views of 17 non-victims and 8 police officers were subjected to thematic analysis which revealed victim-blaming tendencies. Non-victims were likely to blame the victim for their experiences and would offer support if they had adequate knowledge of the victim and evidence of cyber-harassing incidences. Police involvement in cyber-harassing cases was dependent on threats being made to the victim, and victims were perceived as unhelpful in providing evidence and following their advice. Non-victims viewed perpetrators more sympathetically than victims, and there was little understanding about the impact that cyber-harassment can have on victims. The findings from this research are discussed in terms of psychological theory, and suggest that ‘just world’ beliefs may play an important role in perceptions of cyber-harassment. A caveat is raised that the findings from this research are drawn from small, qualitative studies but the research provides some interesting insights to cyber-harassment, and it is hoped that the findings will be transferable to future research investigating the phenomenon.