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General causality orientation is a mini-theory within the self-determination theory (STD). The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of general causality orientations (autonomous, controlled, and impersonal) on perceived stress and self-esteem among students in a women-only college.

Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to students (n = 132) of a small women-only university in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. The survey included questions on the three general causality orientations, perceived stress, and self-esteem; the survey also included questions on student satisfaction, financial resources, and academic performance, used as control variables in the study.

Autonomous orientation was not significantly related to self-esteem or perceived stress. Controlled orientation negatively influences self-depreciation. Finally, impersonal orientation positively influenced self-depreciation and negatively affected self-confidence.

Faculty and administrators in women-only universities should be encouraged to implement programs that strengthen the sense of optimism among female students. Student support services that emphasize enhancing autonomous orientation could be even more helpful by offering interventions that help students overcome their impersonal orientation.

While previous studies have concentrated on autonomous orientation, this study provides recommendations for overcoming impersonal orientation among female undergraduate students in women-only colleges to enhance self-esteem and reduce stress.

Information technology (IT) professionals and their intentions to leave an organization have been studied by researchers; however, these studies do not compare the turnover intentions of IT professionals with non-IT professionals from the same institution. The purpose of this paper is to examine how IT and non-IT job professionals relate to motivational and social job characteristics and their impact on job satisfaction, job performance and turnover intentions.

Data were collected from IT-shared services employees through a survey and quantitative analyses were performed.

Among the motivational job characteristics, IT professionals experienced greater task significance than the non-IT job holders. With social job characteristics, IT professionals had greater outside interaction than the non-IT professionals. However, the non-IT professionals had greater intentions to leave the IT organization than the IT professionals. Additionally, the study examined the differences of the job characteristics and job outcomes among transactional, transformational, and professional advisory work groups. The professionals and advisory group differed from the other groups in terms of feedback from the job, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions.

The findings are based on a small sample. However, it highlights some unique differences in how IT and non-IT job occupants perceive job characteristics and job outcomes.

This study compares job characteristics and job outcomes of IT and non-IT job occupations in the same IT work environment.

Exploration of the policy reforms necessary to strengthen Canada's competitiveness among world trading economies. The paper aims to compare Canada's competitiveness with two economic partners, the USA and the UK, and two emerging economies, China and India.

Data from the annual Global Competitiveness Reports (GCRs) were used to compare Canada with the other countries.

Canada requires a national strategy to create a generation of Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs and executives with a global mindset.

Although Canada has many global trading partners, the paper compares Canadian competitiveness with only two economic partners and two emerging economics. Also, only data from the GCRs are used. Other measures of competitiveness need to be taken into consideration to better understand Canada's global and business competitiveness.

This paper provides new insights into Canada's lack of global competitiveness. The main reasons for this lack of competitiveness are analysed and recommendations are provided for Canadian policy makers to enhance competitiveness.