An examination of model fit and measurement invariance of general mental ability and personality measures used in the multilingual context of the Swiss Armed Forces: A Bayesian structural equation modeling approach.

Measurement invariance of psychological test batteries is an essential quality criterion when the test batteries are administered in different cultural and language contexts. The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent measurement model fit and measurement invariance across the two largest language groups in Switzerland (i.e., German and French speakers) can be assumed for selected general mental ability and personality tests used in the Swiss Armed Forces' cadre selection process. For the model fit and invariance testing, we used Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM). Because the sizes of the language group samples were unbalanced, we reran the invariance testing with the subsampling procedure as a robustness check. The results showed that at least partial approximate scalar invariance can be assumed for the constructs. However, comparisons in the full sample and subsamples also showed that certain test items function differently across the language groups. The results are discussed regarding the three following issues: First, we critically discuss the applied criterion and alternative effect size measures for assessing the practical importance of non-invariances. Second, we highlight potential remedies and further testing options, that can be applied, once certain items have been detected to function differently. Third, we discuss alternative modeling and invariance testing approaches to BSEM and outline future research avenues.

Carriers for hydrophobic drug molecules: lipid-coated hollow mesoporous silica particles, and the influence of shape and size on encapsulation efficiency.

Hydrophobic drugs, while designed to interact with specific receptors or enzymes located in lipid-rich cell membranes, often face challenges of limited bioavailability and insufficient circulation time due to their insolubility in aqueous environments. One plausible pathway to increase their blood circulation time is to load these drugs into biocompatible and hydrophilic carriers to enhance their uptake. In this study, mesoporous silica (mSiO2) nanocarriers of various morphologies (including cubes, capsules, and spheres) were synthesized. These nanocarriers were then surface-functionalized with alkyl chain hydrocarbons, specifically octadecyl-trimethoxysilane, (OCH3)3Si(CH2)17CH3, to render them hydrophobic. The resulting nanocarriers (((OCH3)3Si(CH2)17CH3)@mSiO2) showed up to 80% uptake for hydrophobic drugs. However, a significant drawback was observed as most of the drugs were prone to uncontrollable release within 6 h. This challenge of premature drug release was successfully mitigated by effectively sealing the drug-loaded nanocarriers with a pH-sensitive lipid overlayer. The lipid-coated nanocarriers prolonged drug containment and sustained release up to 72 h, compared to 6 h for uncoated nanocarriers, thereby facilitating longer blood circulation times. Moreover, the shape and size of nanocarriers were found to influence both drug entrapment capacity and release behavior with cubic forms exhibiting superior loading capacity due to higher surface area and porosity. Additionally, it was observed that the molecular weight and chemical structure of the drug molecules played a crucial role in determining their uptake and release profiles. Furthermore, the influence of different morphologies of nanocarriers on cell uptake and cytotoxicity in immune cells was elucidated. These findings underscore the importance of nanocarrier morphology and drug properties to enhance loading capacities and controlled release profiles, for designing drug delivery systems tailored for hydrophobic drugs.

Understanding responses to an organizational takeover: Introducing the social identity model of organizational change.

This paper presents a Social Identity Model of Organizational Change (SIMOC) and tests this in the context of employees' responses to a corporate takeover. This model suggests that employees will identify with the newly emerging organization and adjust to organizational change more successfully the more they are able to maintain their pre-existing social identity (an identity maintenance pathway) or to change understanding of their social identity in ways that are perceived as constituting identity gain (an identity gain pathway). We examine this model in the context of an acquisition in the pharmaceutical industry where 225 employees were surveyed before the implementation of the organizational change and then again 18 months later. In line with SIMOC, pre-change identification predicted post-change identification and a variety of beneficial adjustment outcomes for employees (including job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, lower depression, satisfaction with life, and post-traumatic growth) to the extent that either (a) they experienced a sense of identity continuity or (b) their supervisors engaged in identity leadership that helped to build a sense that they were gaining a new positive identity. Results showed a negative impact of pre-change organizational identification on post-change identification and various adjustment outcomes if both pathways were inaccessible, thereby contributing to employees' experience of social identity loss. Discussion focuses on the ways in which organizations and their leaders can better manage organizational change and associated identity transition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Measuring salient food attitudes and food-related values. An elaborated, conflicting and interdependent system.

Consumer food choice behaviour in post-industrial countries is complex and influenced by a multitude of interacting variables. This study looked at the antecedents of behaviour and examined salient food-related values and attitudes. To discover personal meanings and patterns of everyday food choices across different situations we used a qualitative approach in the form of repertory grid interviews. An analysis of the personal constructs elicited from a representative sample of 100 Swiss consumers revealed elaborated value systems. The food-related values can be summarised as: authenticity/naturalness, conviviality, health, quality/indulgence, convenience, and price. The salience of these values and their negatively evaluated counterparts differed for various social eating situations and product categories. Consumers' personal values also differed significantly from their perception of current trends in eating culture. In every-day food choices interdependent food-related values compete and are thus a possible cause of ambivalence and conflicts. The findings offer explanations of discrepancies between values/attitudes and behaviour that may be due to situational constraints and habits. Implications for companies include the need for strategic realignment to regain consumers' trust by providing comprehensive value-congruent food solutions that also consider health and ethical criteria.

Leader-Member Exchange Fosters Beneficial and Prevents Detrimental Workplace Behavior: Organizational Identification as the Linking Pin.

Discretionary behaviors, such as counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), directly refer to an organization's normative expectations. As such, employees engaging in these behaviors violate or exceed organizational norms, respectively. An employee's relationship quality with his or her supervisor [i.e., leader-member exchange (LMX)] has been found to be a prominent antecedent of employees' workplace behavior. However, the actual mechanisms that link LMX and discretionary behaviors (i.e., CWB and OCB) are not yet well understood. Integrating social exchange as well as the social identity theory, we present an employee's organizational identification (OI) as a mechanism that sheds light on why LMX leads to employees' subsequent discretionary behavior. Across four empirical studies employing complementary study designs, we demonstrate that LMX is positively associated with OI, which, in turn, curbs CWB and fosters OCB. Specifically, this pattern of findings is consistent across (1) a cross-sectional study with 188 Swiss employees, (2) a time-lagged study with 502 Swiss employees, (3) an online recall experiment with 131 US participants, and (4) an online vignette experiment with 139 US participants. In sum, we present an integrative theoretical model and respective empirical support to shed light on OI as a pivotal mechanism that can explain why the relationship quality with one's supervisor can simultaneously serve as a deterrent for CWB and foster OCB.

Give a person power and he or she will show interpersonal sensitivity: the phenomenon and its why and when.

The goal of the present research was to investigate whether high or low power leads to more interpersonal sensitivity and what potentially mediates and moderates this effect. In Study 1, 76 participants in either a high- or low-power position interacted; in Study 2, 134 participants were implicitly primed with either high- or low-power or neutral words; and in Study 3, 96 participants were asked to remember a situation in which they felt high or low power (plus a control condition). In Study 4, 157 participants were told to identify with either an egoistic, empathic, or neutral leadership style. In all studies, interpersonal sensitivity, defined as correctly assessing other people, was then measured using different instruments in each study. Consistently, high power resulted in more interpersonal sensitivity than low power. Feeling respected and proud was partially responsible for this effect. Empathic power as a personality trait was related to more interpersonal sensitivity, and high-power individuals who adopted an empathic instead of an egoistic leadership style were more interpersonally sensitive.