3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Evolving border theory and self-regulation theory for a mobile phone generation(2018) White, Edward Peter GreenwoodThe global adoption of mobile phones has fundamentally changed life as we know it. This study hopes to understand if mobile- and/or smartphones have changed the way in which work and home domains are constructed and what the consequences are on the individual’s workfamily balance. More importantly, are individuals able to self-regulate the flow of communication from the work into the home domain via a mobile- and/or smartphone in order to maintain the intricate work-family balance. To determine the plausibility/feasibility of this hypothesis, the study builds on Clark's (2000) Border theory with respect to work-life balance and border violations, bearing recent technological advances in mind, through the incorporation of Bandura’s (1986) self-regulation mechanism to explain the border management mechanism. To determine the validity of this hypothesis, a mixed-methods study was conducted which utilised a managerial participant sample recruited from South Africa in three phases; a pilot study (N = 30); a primary sample of a further 227 managers; and in-depth follow-up interviews with 27 managers and their partners. To determine the relationship between self-regulation and mobile phone usage for after-hours work in the home domain, Pearson’s correlation coefficients were used. The relationship between self-regulation and work-family balance was further explored through moderated multiple linear regressions, using a model from Baron and Kenny (1986), which created further explorative points which were investigated in the 27 interviews. The interviews were conducted to determine if individuals understand their afterhours mobile phone usage for work purposes and this was analysed via thematic content analysis (TCA). There was evidence for relationships between self-regulation and the time spent on organisational work within the work day and at home (after hours), which results in an impact on the development of work-family conflict. The relationship between the mobile phone use for work can be attributed to self-regulation, which implies that self-regulation is an intermediary mechanism. Moderated multilinear regression, unexpectedly, showed that individuals with low (deficient) self-regulatory ability, facilitated work ubiquitously with their mobile phones while simultaneously increasing their own self-esteem, as it supported their own work-family balance. The interviews uncovered three different border-keeper groups (borderexpanders, border-adapters, and border-enforcers). The outcomes of this research indicates that mobile- and/or smartphones have the ability to alter the border construction between the work and home domains as well as the intricate balance between them. Keywords: Work-family balance, Border theory, Mobile phones, Smartphones, Self-regulation, Self-esteem, South African managersItem Structural implications of the activation of moral disengagement in social cognitive theory.(2013-08-01) Garbharran, AmeethaThis thesis was constructed on the foundation of two broad theoretical criticisms levelled against Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory. The first was the lack of clarity about what constituted the building blocks of the theory and the second was the lack of clarity about how these constituent components interacted in consistent and predictable ways as an integrated model of human behaviour. These ‘theory-level’ criticisms, which detracted from the empirical testability of social cognitive theory, seemed to have filtered down to the level of its individual building blocks. Therefore, moral disengagement, which constituted the focal variable of interest in this investigation, was not unaffected by them. Bandura’s (1986) theoretical presentation of moral disengagement as either an eight or four-dimensional construct and the empirical treatments of moral disengagement by Bandura and his colleagues as a uni-dimensional (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara & Pastorelli, 1996a; Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli & Regalia, 2001b) and a four-dimensional variable (McAlister, Bandura & Owen, 2006), raised questions about its dimensionality. The first objective of this study was to examine moral disengagement’s dimensionality and the stability of its internal factor structure (i.e. longitudinal measurement invariance) over time. The general lack of clarity about how the constituent components of social cognitive theory were expected to cohere as an integrated framework of human behaviour had specific implications for the moral disengagement construct and its temporal position relative to other social cognitive variables. The second objective of this study was to examine moral disengagement’s temporal sequences relative to select social cognitive constructs (viz. proficiency-based self-efficacy, intention, and past and future behaviour) in order to comment on the likely temporal positions of these constructs relative to each other in the context of a model for predicting antisocial behaviour. Due to the exclusive activation of moral disengagement in antisocial contexts, the examination of its dimensionality and temporal sequences was contingent on an antisocial context. Software piracy, as a specific instance of antisocial behaviour, served as the context in which moral disengagement was researched in this study. A pilot investigation was conducted to test the psychometric properties of the scales that were developed to measure moral disengagement, proficiency-based self-efficacy, intention and behaviour in this study. Once their psychometric robustness was established, these scales were used in the context of a main longitudinal investigation separated by a three to four month time-lag in order to achieve the two main research objectives. Using the structural equation modelling family of data analysis techniques (specifically, confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis), the results of the main longitudinal study revealed that moral disengagement emerged as most meaningful as a uni-dimensional construct which consisted of four aggregated sets of items which represented the clusters of moral disengagement mechanisms that were likely to be activated at the four points in the self-regulation process envisaged by Bandura (1986). The findings suggested that this factor structure was longitudinally invariant when moral disengagement was measured across two assessment waves. Moral disengagement appeared to temporally precede intention and future behaviour and to temporally follow past behaviour. Self-efficacy, however, seemed to temporally precede future behaviour and to temporally follow past behaviour but unlike moral disengagement, self-efficacy appeared to temporally follow intention. Therefore, intention appeared to completely mediate the interaction between moral disengagement and proficiency-based self-efficacy in this study. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings were examined and directions for future research were proposed.Item Bandura's social cognitive theory (SCT) in a cross-nation study of software piracy.(2009-06-18T06:52:34Z) Matthews, M. S.This quantitative study is designed to examine possible cross-national differences between a Zambian and a South Africa student sample on specific aspects of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory in relation to software piracy. Software piracy is when people make copies of the computer software without permission or they load software onto more machines than the licensed agreement says they can. A questionnaire composed of previously developed scales measuring attitudes, social norms, piracy intentions, incentives, deterrents, self-efficacy and moral disengagement within the context of software piracy was collated. During economics classes in a major University in Zambia and one in South Africa 150 copies of the questionnaire were handed out. The South African sample consisted of 37 males and 34 females all aged between 18-28, 44 were in 2nd year and 27 were in 3rd year. The Zambian sample consisted of 57 males and 12 females, 53 were between 18-28, 12 between 29-38 and 4 between 39-49, 27 were in their 3rd years of study and 42 in 4th year. The scales had adequate reliabilities (.60 to .89). There was sufficient evidence to suggest that there is a statistical difference between the two countries on attitudes and social norms. The South African sample had more positive attitudes and more favourable social norms than Zambia. South Africa reported higher extrinsic motivators (monetary, reinforcement and reciprocal exchange, and self-evaluative and reciprocal exchange) and Zambia reported higher intrinsic motivators and being deterred by the threat of harsh punishments. There was also sufficient evidence to suggest that attitudes, social norms and self-efficacy predict (in order of best predictors) piracy intention in both samples. Moral disengagement did not act as a moderator or mediator between attitudes, social norms and self-efficacy and piracy intention in either sample. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Item "The theory of planned behaviour and how it relates to software piracy".(2009-03-04T07:44:48Z) Van der Schyff, DerekOwing to the ever increasing prevalence of software piracy and the alarming rise in costs to global economies, this research evaluated the Theory of Planned Behaviour and looked to determine if there are any relationships between the constructs under the model and intentions to carry out a specific behaviour, namely the copying of unauthorised computer software. The theory suggests that should attitudes and social norms favour the pirating of software and should the individual have the necessary perceived behavioural control and selfefficacy then they will be more likely to have intention to commit a certain act. A quantitative study looking at 225 individuals from organisations in the fields of manufacturing, finance and information technology was carried out to evaluate the theory’s claims. Correlations and linear regressions were run to analyse the data and it emerged that attitudes were the major predictor of intentions to pirate software accounting for up to 55% of the variance. Despite the perceived behavioural control variable there was significant support for the predictive value of the different constructs under the Theory of Planned Behaviour as well as the construct of self-efficacy.