Browsing by Author "Becker, William J."

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    Dynamic surface temperature measurement on the first stage turbine blades in a turbofan jet engine test rig
    Becker, William J. (Virginia Tech, 1988-12-03)
    Turbine blade surface temperatures were studied during transient operation in a turbofan engine test rig. A single fiber radiation pyrometer was used to view the suction side of the blades from approximately 60 percent axial chord to the trailing edge at an average radial location of 70 percent blade height. A single ceramic-coated blade produced a once-per-revolution signal that allowed for the tracking of individual blades during the transients. The investigation concentrated on the light-off starting transient and the transients obtained during accelerating and decelerating between power settings. During starting and acceleration transients, the blade surface temperature gradient was observed to reverse. This phenomenon was most apparent during starting when the trailing edge was initially much hotter than the 60 percent chord location, resulting in large temperature gradients. In steady operation the trailing edge temperature was lower than the 60 percent chord location, and the gradients were less severe. During deceleration transients, the trailing edge cooled more rapidly than the 60 percent chord location. This resulted in larger temperature gradients than were seen in steady operation, but no profile inversion was observed. These temperature gradients and profile inversions represent a cycling of thermally-induced stresses which may contribute to low cycle fatigue damage. A simple one-dimensional heat transfer model is presented as a means of explaining the different heating rates observed during the transients.
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    How past trauma impacts emotional intelligence: Examining the connection
    Gottfredson, Ryan K.; Becker, William J. (Frontiers, 2023-05)
    Backed by both research and practice, the organizational psychology field has come to value emotional intelligence (EI) as being vital for leader and employee effectiveness. While this field values EI, it has paid little attention to the antecedents of emotional intelligence, leaving the EI domain without clarity on (1) why EI might vary across individuals, and (2) how to best develop EI. In this article, we rely on neuroscience and psychology research to make the case that past psychological trauma impacts later EI capabilities. Specifically, we present evidence that psychological trauma impairs the brain areas and functions that support EI. Establishing psychological trauma has valuable theoretical and practical implications that include providing an explanation of why EI might vary across individuals and providing a focus for improving EI: healing from past trauma. Further theoretical and practical implications for the field of organizational psychology are provided.
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    Identity at Work: Balancing Demographic-related Identity in the Workplace and the Impact on Extra-role Behaviors and Turnover Intentions
    Tuskey, Sarah Elizabeth (Virginia Tech, 2021-07-22)
    People simultaneously hold a multitude of social identifications while at work, some of which are work-related and some of which transcend the workplace. To date, the vast majority of studies on social identities focus on these identities in isolation. Two important identities that transcend the work domain are those associated with gender and ethnicity. These attributes have been widely studied in the workplace, however, there is a lack of understanding in how the identities associated with these attributes (demographic-related identities) have implications for identification in the workplace and work-related outcomes. In this paper, I examine the relationship between perceived threats to these demographic-related identities and work-related attitudes and behavior, specifically turnover intentions, and extra-role behaviors. I also explore moderating (degree of demographic-related identity centrality) and mediating (organizational and workgroup identification) mechanisms in this relationship. Data were collected across two studies. The results demonstrate that perceived threats to demographic-related identities have severe ramifications for work-related identification. The supplemental analysis indicated a direct relationship between demographic-related identity centrality and turnover intentions. Furthermore, demographic-related identity centrality moderated the relationship between perceived threats to demographic-related identity by both the organization and the workgroup on work-related outcomes.
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    Killing Me Softly: Organizational E-mail Monitoring Expectations' Impact on Employee and Significant Other Well-Being
    Becker, William J.; Belkin, Liuba Y.; Conroy, Samantha A.; Tuskey, Sarah (SAGE, 2019-12-12)
    This paper tests the relationship between organizational expectations to monitor work-related electronic communication during nonwork hours and the health and relationship satisfaction of employees and their significant others. We integrate resource-based theories with research on interruptions to position organizational expectations for e-mail monitoring (OEEM) during nonwork time as a psychological stressor that elicits anxiety due to employee attention allocation conflict. E-mail–triggered anxiety, in turn, negatively affects the health and relationship quality of employees and their significant others. We conducted three studies to test our propositions. Using the experience sampling method with 108 working U.S. adults, Study 1 established within-employee effects of OEEM on anxiety, employee health, and relationship conflict. Study 2 used a sample of 138 dyads of full-time employees and their significant others to replicate detrimental health and relationship effects of OEEM through anxiety. It also showed crossover effects of OEEM on partner health and relationship satisfaction. Finally, Study 3 employed a two-wave data collection method with an online sample of 162 U.S. working adults to provide additional support for the OEEM construct as a distinct and reliable job stressor and replicated findings from Studies 1 and 2. Taken together, our research extends the literature on work-related electronic communication at the interface of work and nonwork boundaries, deepening our understanding of the impact of OEEM on employees and their families’ health and well-being.
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    Surviving remotely: How job control and loneliness during a forced shift to remote work impacted employee work behaviors and well-being
    Becker, William J.; Belkin, Liuba Y.; Tuskey, Sarah E.; Conroy, Samantha A. (Wiley, 2022)
    This paper investigates the impact of job control and work-related loneliness on employee work behaviors and well-being during the massive and abrupt move to remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We draw on job-demands control and social baseline theory to link employee perceived job control and work-related loneliness to emotional exhaustion and work-life balance and posit direct and indirect effects on employee minor counterproductive work behaviors, depression, and insomnia. Using a two-wave data collection with a sample of U.S. working adults to test our predictions, we find that high job control was beneficially related to emotional exhaustion and work-life balance, while high work-related loneliness showed detrimental relationships with our variables of interest. Moreover, we find that the beneficial impact of high perceived job control was conditional on individual segmentation preferences such that the effects were stronger when segmentation preference was low. Our research extends the literature on remote work, job control, and workplace loneliness. It also provides insights for human resource professionals to manage widespread remote work that is likely to persist long after the COVID-19 pandemic.