Search

Multinational organizations are increasingly looking to deploy assessments on a global basis. However, the social desirability of different personality characteristics may vary as a function of culture, yet limited research has explored this idea. Based on the GLOBE cultural dimensions and the theory of purposeful behavior, we examined potential connections between cultural practice dimensions and the desirability of personality aspects with a large personality item bank, utilizing raters across 34 countries. Findings indicated few connections of societal level cultural practices and social desirability perceptions for particular aspects. An exception to this was the finding that higher social desirability ratings were given for cooperativeness, sensitivity, and assertiveness in Confucian Asian, South Asian, and Sub-Saharan contexts compared with Germanic Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Latin Europe contexts. Limitations of the study as well as implications for development and use of personality assessments globally in high stakes contexts are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Purpose Cognitive ability tests demonstrate strong relationships with job performance, but have several limitations; notably, subgroup differences based on race/ethnicity. As an alternative, the purpose of this paper is to develop a working memory assessment for personnel selection contexts. Design/methodology/approach The authors describe the development of Global Adaptive Memory Evaluation (G.A.M.E.) – a working memory assessment – along with three studies focused on refining and validating G.A.M.E., including examining test-taker reactions, reliability, subgroup differences, construct and criterion-related validity, and measurement equivalence across computer and mobile devices. Findings Evidence suggests that G.A.M.E. is a reliable and valid tool for employee selection. G.A.M.E. exhibited convergent validity with other cognitive assessments, predicted job performance, yielded smaller subgroup differences than traditional cognitive ability tests, was engaging for test-takers, and upheld equivalent measurement across computers and mobile devices. Research limitations/implications Additional research is needed on the use of working memory assessments as an alternative to traditional cognitive ability testing, including its advantages and disadvantages, relative to other constructs and methods. Practical implications The findings illustrate working memory’s potential as an alternative to traditional cognitive ability assessments and highlight the need for cognitive ability tests that rely on modern theories of intelligence and leverage burgeoning mobile technology. Originality/value This paper highlights an alternative to traditional cognitive ability tests, namely, working memory assessments, and demonstrates how to design reliable, valid, engaging and mobile-compatible versions.

Bacterial species have diverse cell shapes that enable motility, colonization and virulence. The cell wall defines bacterial shape and is primarily built by two cytoskeleton-guided synthesis machines, the elongasome and the divisome. However, the mechanisms producing complex shapes, like the curved-rod shape of Vibrio cholerae, are incompletely defined. Previous studies have reported that species-specific regulation of cytoskeleton-guided machines enables formation of complex bacterial shapes such as cell curvature and cellular appendages. In contrast, we report that CrvA and CrvB are sufficient to induce complex cell shape autonomously of the cytoskeleton in V. cholerae. The autonomy of the CrvAB module also enables it to induce curvature in the Gram-negative species Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Caulobacter crescentus and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Using inducible gene expression, quantitative microscopy and biochemistry, we show that CrvA and CrvB circumvent the need for patterning via cytoskeletal elements by regulating each other to form an asymmetrically localized, periplasmic structure that binds directly to the cell wall. The assembly and disassembly of this periplasmic structure enables dynamic changes in cell shape. Bioinformatics indicate that CrvA and CrvB may have diverged from a single ancestral hybrid protein. Using fusion experiments in V. cholerae, we find that a synthetic CrvA/B hybrid protein is sufficient to induce curvature on its own, but that expression of two distinct proteins, CrvA and CrvB, promotes more rapid curvature induction. We conclude that morphological complexity can arise independently of cell-shape specification by the core cytoskeleton-guided synthesis machines. A two-protein module mediates Vibrio cholerae cell curvature and is sufficient to curve other Gram-negative bacteria. This module functions independently of cytoskeleton-directed machineries by directly binding to the cell wall.

Bacteria can achieve a staggering diversity of cell shapes that promote critical functions like growth, motility, and virulence1-4. Previous studies suggested that bacteria establish complex shapes by co-opting the core machineries essential for elongation and division5,6. In contrast, we discovered a two-protein module, CrvAB, that can curve bacteria autonomously of the major elongation and division machinery by forming a dynamic, asymmetrically-localized structure in the periplasm. CrvAB is essential for curvature in its native species, Vibrio cholerae, and is sufficient to curve multiple heterologous species spanning 2.5 billion years of evolution. Thus, modular shape determinants can promote the evolution of morphological complexity independently of existing cell shape regulation.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the presence of generational differences in items measuring workplace attitudes (e.g. job satisfaction, employee engagement). Design/methodology/approach Data from two empirical studies were used; the first study examined generational differences in large sample, multi-organizational administrations of an employee survey at both the item and general-factor levels. The second study compared job satisfaction ratings between parents and their children from a large nationwide longitudinal survey. Findings Although statistically significant, most generational differences in Study 1 did not meet established cutoffs for a medium effect size. Type II error was ruled out given the large power. In Study 2, generational differences again failed to reach Cohen’s cutoff for a medium effect size. Across both studies, over 98 percent of the variance in workplace attitudes lies within groups, as opposed to between groups, and the distributions of scores on these variables overlap by over 79 percent. Originality/value Prior studies examining generational differences in workplace attitudes focused on scale-level constructs. The present paper focused on more specific item-level constructs and employed larger sample sizes, which reduced the effects of sampling error. In terms of workplace attitudes, it appears that generations are more similar than they are different.

We investigated the effects of empirical keying on scoring personality measures. To our knowledge, this is the first published study to investigate the use of empirical keying for personality in a selection context. We hypothesized that empirical keying maximizes use of the information provided in responses to personality items. We also hypothesized that it reduces faking since the relationship between response options and performance is not obvious to respondents. Four studies were used to test the hypotheses. In Study 1, the criterion-related validity of empirically keyed personality measures was investigated using applicant data from a law enforcement officer predictive validation study. A combination of training and job performance measures was used as criteria. In Study 2, two empirical keys were created for long and short measures of the five factors. The criterion-related validities of the empirical keys were investigated using Freshman GPA (FGPA) as a criterion. In Study 3, one set of the empirical keys from Study 2 was applied to experimental data to examine the effects of empirical keying on applicant faking and on the relationship of personality scores and cognitive ability. In Study 4, we examined the generalizability of empirical keying across different organizations. Across the studies, option- and item-level empirical keying increased criterion-related validities for academic, training, and job performance. Empirical keying also reduced the effects of faking. Thus, both hypotheses were supported. We recommend that psychologists using personality measures to predict performance should consider the use of empirical keying as it enhanced validity and reduced faking.

One of the typical roles of industrial–organizational (I-O) psychologists working as practitioners is administering employee surveys measuring job satisfaction/engagement. Traditionally, this work has involved developing (or choosing) the items for the survey, administering the items to employees, analyzing the data, and providing stakeholders with summary results (e.g., percentages of positive responses, item means). In recent years, I-O psychologists moved into uncharted territory via the use of survey key driver analysis (SKDA), which aims to identify the most critical items in a survey for action planning purposes. Typically, this analysis involves correlating (or regressing) a self-report criterion item (e.g., “considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job”) with (or on) each of the remaining survey items in an attempt to identify which items are “driving” job satisfaction/engagement. It is also possible to use an index score (i.e., a scale score formed from several items) as the criterion instead of a single item. That the criterion measure (regardless of being a single item or an index) is internal to the survey from which predictors are drawn distinguishes this practice from linkage research. This methodology is not widely covered in survey methodology coursework, and there are few peer-reviewed articles on it. Yet, a number of practitioners are marketing this service to their clients. In this focal article, a group of practitioners with extensive applied survey research experience uncovers several methodological issues with SKDA. Data from a large multiorganizational survey are used to back up claims about these issues. One issue is that SKDA ignores the psychometric reality that item standard deviations impact which items are chosen as drivers. Another issue is that the analysis ignores the factor structure of survey item responses. Furthermore, conducting this analysis each time a survey is administered conflicts with the lack of situational and temporal specificity. Additionally, it is problematic to imply causal relationships from the correlational data seen in most surveys. Most surprisingly, randomly choosing items out of a hat yields validities similar to those from conducting the analysis. Thus, we recommend that survey providers stop conducting SKDA until they can produce science that backs up this practice. These issues, in concert with the lack of literature examining the practice, make rigorous evaluations of SKDA a timely inquiry.

Outer membrane protein (OMP) biogenesis in Escherichia coli is a robust process essential to the life of the organism. It is catalyzed by the β-barrel assembly machine (Bam) complex, and a number of quality control factors, including periplasmic chaperones and proteases, maintain the integrity of this trafficking pathway. Little is known, however, about how periplasmic proteases recognize and degrade OMP substrates when assembly is compromised or whether different proteases recognize the same substrate at distinct points in the assembly pathway. In this work, we use well-defined assembly-defective mutants of LptD, the essential lipopolysaccharide assembly translocon, to show that the periplasmic protease DegP degrades substrates with assembly defects that prevent or impair initial contact with Bam, causing the mutant protein to accumulate in the periplasm. In contrast, another periplasmic protease, BepA, degrades a LptD mutant substrate that has engaged the Bam complex and formed a nearly complete barrel. Furthermore, we describe the role of the outer membrane lipoprotein YcaL, a protease of heretofore unknown function, in the degradation of a LptD substrate that has engaged the Bam complex but is stalled at an earlier step in the assembly process that is not accessible to BepA. Our results demonstrate that multiple periplasmic proteases monitor OMPs at distinct points in the assembly process. IMPORTANCE OMP assembly is catalyzed by the essential Bam complex and occurs in a cellular environment devoid of energy sources. Assembly intermediates that misfold can compromise this essential molecular machine. Here we demonstrate distinctive roles for three different periplasmic proteases that can clear OMP substrates with folding defects that compromise assembly at three different stages. These quality control factors help ensure the integrity of the permeability barrier that contributes to the intrinsic resistance of Gram-negative organisms to many antibiotics.

Pathogenic Vibrio cholerae remains a major human health concern. V. cholerae has a characteristic curved rod morphology, with a longer outer face and a shorter inner face. Previously, the mechanism and function of this curvature were unknown. Here we identify and characterize CrvA, the first curvature determinant in V. cholerae. CrvA self-assembles into filaments at the inner face of cell curvature. Unlike traditional cytoskeletons, CrvA localizes to the periplasm, and thus could be considered a periskeletal element. To quantify how curvature forms, we developed QuASAR (Quantitative Analysis of Sacculus Architecture Remodeling), which measures subcellular peptidoglycan dynamics. QuASAR reveals that CrvA asymmetrically patterns peptidoglycan insertion rather than removal, causing more material insertion into the outer face than the inner face. Furthermore, crvA is quorum regulated and CrvA-dependent curvature increases at high cell density. Finally, we demonstrate that CrvA promotes motility in hydrogels and confers an advantage in host colonization and pathogenesis.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the Big Five factors of personality and dispositional optimism. Data from five samples were collected (Total N = 4332) using three different measures of optimism and five different measures of the Big Five. Results indicated strong positive relationships between optimism and four of the Big Five factors: Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness explained additional variance in dispositional optimism over and above Neuroticism and Extraversion, providing evidence for the complexity of optimism. The position of optimism in the larger web of human personality constructs is discussed.

Summary Polyphosphate (polyP), a several billion-year-old biopolymer, is produced in every cell, tissue, and organism studied. Structurally extremely simple, polyP consists of long chains of covalently linked inorganic phosphate groups. We report here the surprising discovery that polyP shows a remarkable efficacy in accelerating amyloid fibril formation. We found that polyP serves as an effective nucleation source for various different amyloid proteins, ranging from bacterial CsgA to human α-synuclein, Aβ 1–40/42 , and Tau. polyP-associated α-synuclein fibrils show distinct differences in seeding behavior, morphology, and fibril stability compared with fibrils formed in the absence of polyP. In vivo, the amyloid-stimulating and fibril-stabilizing effects of polyP have wide-reaching consequences, increasing the rate of biofilm formation in pathogenic bacteria and mitigating amyloid toxicity in differentiated neuroblastoma cells and C. elegans strains that serve as models for human folding diseases. These results suggest that we have discovered a conserved cytoprotective modifier of amyloidogenic processes.

Several forming processes, β extrusion, α + β extrusion, rotary piercing, and flowforming, were utilized to produce seamless Ti–6Al–4V tubes. The β-extruded and rotary-pierced tube materials displayed similar microstructures showing a coarse prior β grain size. Microstructure of the α + β extruded material, on the other hand, consisted of a fine microstructure showing severely elongated primary α and transformed β phases. The flowformed materials, having gone through an extreme cold work, displayed the finest microstructure consisting of severely elongated α and β phases. TEM study on a flowformed sample further verified severe deformation through observed very fine grains with high dislocation densities. The flowformed tube material provided the highest tensile strength among all the tubes, with an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) greater than 1100 MPa. Similarly, when tested for fatigue, the flowformed material had a slight advantage over the other material variants. The α + β extruded material appeared to have the second longest fatigue life after the flowformed material.

In this study we tested for a nonlinear relation between Conscientiousness and job performance using two independent samples of clerical employees (N = 192, and N = 203, respectively). Based on several characteristics of clerical positions, we expected that Conscientiousness would be asymptotically related to job performance. In Study 1, we found evidence of a nonlinear relation using biodata and situational judgment items to measure Conscientiousness. In Study 2, we found similar results using a traditional Conscientiousness measure and controlling for cognitive ability. We discuss the implications for using Conscientiousness to select clerical employees.

We introduce the concept of Personal Living Space (PLS). More than a bedroom but less than a house, PLSs typically nestle within larger residential settings, affording primary territory for a designated individual. Common examples include rooms in family households, dormitories, or residential centers. We document modal portraits of one particular form of PLS, providing a snapshot at the cusp of the twenty-first century of the material residue found in North American college students' accommodations. Next, we marshal an environmental psychological approach to explore the meanings conveyed by the attributes and item contents of PLSs, focusing on three personal characteristics of residents: gender, ethnicity, and personality. This analysis is guided by residue theory in personality psychology and the interpretation of instrumental (or use) meaning in the study of material culture.

The U.S. Marines’ and U.S. Army’s next-generation, titanium-intensive M777 howitzer offers reduced weight, increased mobility, and improved survivability over its aging, M198 steel-based predecessor. The National Center for Excellence in Metalworking Technology (NCEMT), operated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation, is helping to meet M777 program goals for cost, performance, and production schedule by developing near-net-shape manufacturing routes for traditionally machined and welded components. Under two projects sponsored by the Navy Manufacturing Technology Program, the NCEMT has developed investment cast spade and saddle components as well as flowformed tubes and forged bell housings. This paper summarizes the results of the two ongoing projects.

Staphylococcus aureus is a human commensal and pathogen that is capable of forming biofilms on a variety of host tissues and implanted medical devices. Biofilm-associated infections resist antimicrobial chemotherapy and attack from the host immune system, making these infections particularly difficult to treat. In order to gain insight into environmental conditions that influence S. aureus biofilm development, we screened a library of small molecules for the ability to inhibit S. aureus biofilm formation. This led to the finding that the polyphenolic compound tannic acid inhibits S. aureus biofilm formation in multiple biofilm models without inhibiting bacterial growth. We present evidence that tannic acid inhibits S. aureus biofilm formation via a mechanism dependent upon the putative transglycosylase IsaA. Tannic acid did not inhibit biofilm formation of an isaA mutant. Overexpression of wild-type IsaA inhibited biofilm formation, whereas overexpression of a catalytically dead IsaA had no effect. Tannin-containing drinks like tea have been found to reduce methicillin-resistant S. aureus nasal colonization. We found that black tea inhibited S. aureus biofilm development and that an isaA mutant resisted this inhibition. Antibiofilm activity was eliminated from tea when milk was added to precipitate the tannic acid. Finally, we developed a rodent model for S. aureus throat colonization and found that tea consumption reduced S. aureus throat colonization via an isaA -dependent mechanism. These findings provide insight into a molecular mechanism by which commonly consumed polyphenolic compounds, such as tannins, influence S. aureus surface colonization.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether worker-oriented job analysis importance ratings were influenced by subject matter experts' (SME) standing (as measured by self-rated performance) on a competency. This type of relationship (whereby SMEs indicate that the traits they have are important for successful job performance) is an example of the self-serving bias (which is widely described in the social cognition literature and rarely described in the industrial/organizational psychology literature). An archival dataset covering 57 clerical and technical occupations with 26,682 participants was used. Support was found for the relationship between self-rated performance and importance ratings. Significant relationships (typically in the .30s) were observed for all 31 competencies that were studied. Controls were taken to account for common method bias and differences in the competencies required for each of the 57 occupations. Past research has demonstrated the effects of the self-serving bias on personality-based job analysis ratings. This study was the first to extend these findings to traditional job analysis, which covers other competencies in addition to personality. In addition, this study is the first to use operational field data instead of laboratory data.