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Identity, positioning and possibilities intersect differently for South Asian women in white academia. Within a broader migrant community that defines Australian life, these identities and positioning imply great possibility, but pursuing such pathways within academia is a walk on the last strand of resilience. This paper explores this tension of possibilities and constraints, using hope theory to highlight the cognitive resistance evident in the narratives of three South Asian women in Australian academia.

The authors use collaborative autoethnography to share their narratives of working in Australian universities at three different stages of careers, utilising Snyder's model of hope theory to interrogate their own goal-setting behaviours, pathways and agentic thinking.

The authors propose that hope as a cognitive state informs resistance and enables aspirations to contribute within academia in meaningful ways whilst navigating the terrain of inequitable structures.

The authors' use of hope theory as a lens on the intersectional experiences of career making, building and progression is a new contribution to scholarship on marginalised women in white academe and the ways in which the pathways of resistance are identified.

In the organizational behaviour literature, psychological capital (psycap) has been identified as a significant variable affecting the engagement level of employees. Relying on this, this study aims to examine the association between psycap sub-constructs and employee engagement (EE) using systematic review and meta-analysis techniques.

The study analyzed 28 primary studies (selected through a systematic review of literature by incorporating inclusion and exclusion criteria) via meta-analysis techniques conducted using Meta-Essential Software (1.5). Along with this, the Cohen Kappa reliability test and the trim and fill technique have been applied, followed by moderator analysis.

The results of the study contribute to the extant literature in three ways. Firstly, the study confirms the positive association between psycap sub-constructs and EE. Secondly, it looks into the individual constructs of psycap and shows that hope is the primary component that influences EE, followed by optimism, efficacy and resilience. Thirdly, the country acts as a moderator between psycap and EE.

The study’s result highlights numerous implications, suggesting that organizations should focus on bringing out the latent “HERO” (hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism) qualities of their employees to make the workplace more engaging. Lastly, the study concludes by pointing out the limitations and highlighting future directions.

Being the first systematic review and meta-analytical study focusing on psycap sub-constructs and EE associations, this study contributes to the engagement literature.

The COVID-19 lockdown severely impacted organizations in the cultural and tourist business as their products all of a sudden “disappeared”. This study aims to explore if and how the unexpected and disruptive nature of the pandemic accelerated the development of new communication strategies on their social media.

The study draws on data from 24 midsize cultural institutions and tourist attractions in Denmark over the first two months of the lockdown in 2020. Approximately 900 posts on Facebook were collected and analyzed through the netnographic method. The analysis followed a two-layered qualitative approach. First, open coding to identify typologies and enable a comparison with established strategies from the literature review. Then, an exploratory examination was conducted across the typologies.

Nine different content categories were identified in the data and subsequently assessed and discussed in relation to the literature on strategies and dialogic intentions. This resulted in the emergence of two new overarching strategies: hope and host.

While hope is particularly relevant in crisis situations, the utilization of employees in the host role presents an opportunity for further development and engagement. Further, the results call for future research that breaks with the traditional quest for ideal strategies for the benefit of exploring the notion of “strategic doers”.

The identification of the hope and host strategies, along with the analysis of content categories and their alignment with various strategic intentions, contributes to the existing knowledge in this field. Further, the classic perception of engagement as driven by explicit interaction and dialogue is also challenged.

The pandemic presented many new challenges is all spheres of life including faith communities. Around the globe, lockdowns took pace at various stages with varying restrictions that included the closure of places of worship which significantly affected the way people serve God and gather as a community. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the wellbeing and resilience of members of Christian faith communities in Melbourne (Australia) who had experienced one of the longest lockdowns in the world.

The authors draw on online survey N = 106 collected between November 2021 and May 2021. Participants were over the age of 18 from Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Baptist and Pentecostal/Evangelical faith communities. They employ thematic analysis to analyze, and code open-ended responses from four questions in relation to the research question: In what ways has your wellbeing been impacted during the pandemic?

Melbourne experienced one of the longest lockdown periods in the world between 2020 and 2021 when blended modes of worship forced people to congregate in new and different ways. The empirical insights of participants express their views in relation to celebrating faith and hope, connecting with community, pursuing leisure activities and pursuing leisure in relation to the PERMA model of wellbeing. The findings may resonate with other faith communities in Melbourne and around the globe. They may also lead to new and innovative ways of planning and envisioning modes of worship that may be helpful in a variety of faith contexts.

The research was limited by its sample size (N = 106) and its geographical restriction of Christian faith communities in the Melbourne metropolitan area. This means that broad generalizations cannot be made. Nevertheless, the findings may resonate with other faith communities in Australian and in other parts of the world.

In highlighting the impact COVID-19 had in Australia and ways people balanced their sense of faith and wellbeing, this study raises concerns about the lack of funding that supports mental health initiatives in faith settings and the wider community. The study recommends that faith community leaders and members use informal communication channels to foster hope building wellbeing and resilience, and that pastoral care networks be established in the wider community to promote leisure activities that nurtures social connection, builds faith and resilience.

Whilst the pandemic has provided new openings for members of faith communities to engage with God, the scriptures, each other and leisure, it remains “a balancing act of keeping the faith and maintaining wellbeing”. Such a balancing act may positively enliven a sense of wellbeing and resilience as people continue to navigate the uncertainty inherent in a milieu beginning to be named as “post-Covid”.

This is an original work carried out by the authors. It raises concerns about the lack of funding that supports mental health initiatives in faith settings and the wider community. While much research, news and social media discussed the pandemic's impact on communities, there is an urgent need for ongoing research that encourages, supports and connects people to faith and to leisure activities in order to promote a continued sense of wellbeing as communities begin to transition to a “post-Covid” world. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge about the impact COVID-19 had in Australia and ways people balanced their sense of faith and wellbeing.

The purpose of this empirical investigation was to explore the interrelationship between psychological capital (PsyCaP) and impostor phenomenon (IP) experienced by entrepreneurs.

The researchers performed exploratory data analysis, using a correlation matrix that included the composite score of all PsyCap dimensions (psychological capital questionnaire [PCQ-24]) and the factor scores of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism. The data analysis was conducted in relation to participants’ IP scores.

The study results demonstrated that a negative relationship was present between entrepreneurs’ Clance impostor phenomenon scale (CIPS) factor scores (consisting of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism) and PsyCap dimensions (PCQ-24) composite subscales. This indicated that higher levels of PsyCaP were associated with lower levels of IP experience by entrepreneurs.

Theoretically, it must be noted that, based upon these study results, both “impostor phenomenon” and entrepreneurial identity formation occurred among entrepreneurs. It was known to be associated with external environmental, situational and societal factors. The researchers established the relationship between entrepreneurs’ “impostor phenomenon” and “psychological capital (PsyCap)”.

Entrepreneurs and executives associated with business accelerators and incubators should comprehend the link between IP and PsyCap in entrepreneurs. This would enhance the well-being of entrepreneurs in their challenging context. Entrepreneurs and executives associated with business accelerators and incubators might explore the effectiveness of PsyCap-based interventions, along with IP-related considerations.

This was one of the first empirical studies investigating and establishing the relationship between entrepreneurs’ “impostor phenomenon” and “psychological capital (PsyCap)”.

The construct of psychological capital or PsyCap (consisting of the positive psychological resources of hope, self-efficacy, optimism and resilience) has been demonstrated to relate to employees’ attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of positive psychological capital on mental health, readiness for organizational change, and job insecurity in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Data were collected from 567 hotel employees working in hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A quantitative approach was used and employees were requested to fill the questionnaires.

Results show that psychological capital enhances an employee’s mental health and readiness for the organizational change. Moreover, PsyCap is found to negatively impact the perceptions of job insecurity among hotel employees. The study has useful managerial implications for hoteliers, especially, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the first study of its kind to link hotel employees’ positive psychological capital with their perceptions about job insecurity and mental health. COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world fiercely and new normal expects employees to be ready to embrace changes in organizations. This study contributes to the literature on hospitality management by linking psychological capital with hotel employees’ readiness for organizational change in the context of Coronavirus.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the many ways in which those who have experienced early life adversity and trauma can continue to be failed within health-care settings and other organisations. The author explores the impact that repeated exposure to indifference and a lack of help and support has on the ability to recover and rebuild a meaningful life. The author takes the reader through a journey of various autoethnographic vignettes to explore the living experience of continuing to be unseen. The author hopes to contribute to improving the lives of service users.

The author has written about the many ways in which distressing experiences and mental health difficulties were left unsupported by various professionals and organisations. The writing is rich and evocative and gives voice to the distress experienced from a lack of caring attention.

The author concludes that whilst it has been painful to remember the varied ways people with lived experience of early life trauma continue to be failed it has also been cathartic and helpful. It is noted that the writing of these events brings some perspective and enables the author to limit the potential for self-blame which is a regular feature of the psychology of those living with early-life relational trauma. The writing of these events serves to highlight the ways institutions might improve responses to those seeking support. The author concludes that this is a meaningful way to use such harmful experiences.

The author concludes that recovery and the ability to rebuild a meaningful life after early-life trauma is often hindered and denied by the responses received when seeking support from various institutions and people who may be able to intervene to prevent further harm occurring. These testimonies may contribute to the wider learnings about the impacts and lived experience of early life trauma and how institutions might support and encourage recovery. The author notes the helpfulness of writing about these experiences to bring perspective and remind those who seek help that it is a great act of courage despite unhelpful responses.

The author has found that writing about these experiences helps to soothe any feelings of self-blame in terms of being unable to recover sooner from early life trauma and that recovery and moving forward must be positioned as a social phenomenon and not a solely individual pursuit. It is noted that writing about difficult experiences can be cathartic and bring fresh perspective and hope. Contributing to ongoing research in terms of how helping professionals can respond wisely is satisfying and meaningful for the author.

This is the author’s firsthand and unique testimony of how easy it can be for survivors of trauma to continue to be unseen and failed. The author also shows that there are many opportunities to support and help which are inadvertently missed which contributes to ongoing distress. The author hopes that the courage taken to write of these experiences will contribute to learnings within many professions and organisations of how to notice, support and help those in distress and living with the effects of early life trauma. The author has found the writing of this paper to be meaningful. The process has helped the author to make sense of previously distressing events. It is hoped it will be of value to the reader.

The study aims to closely look at the phenomenon of transformational leadership and the psychological capital of followers by using affective process theory (APT). It has empirically tested the mediation of the perceived emotional labor (EL) of a leader and susceptible emotional contagion (EC) of followers when studying the effect of transformational leadership on the psychological capital (PsyCap) of followers.

The method adopted was mixed methodology. The data were collected from the 120 respondents and their perception regarding the construct as identified by previous literature was captured through a structured questionnaire. The relationships and hypotheses were tested by the structural equation modeling (SEM) model using SMART PLS. Further 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted using a qualitative approach.

The current research has empirically shown how specific aspects of transformational leadership, i.e. individual consideration perceived by followers also show high use of perceived deep acting strategy. Deep acting EL strategy is impacting positive EC and positive EC is leading to higher PsyCap of followers generating more work efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience. Mediation of positive EC between Deep acting EL and PsyCap was also observed. In qualitative studies done with the participants, major themes that emerged were transformational leadership, EL strategies, EC and PsyCap.

In times of uncertainty and stress after the post-COVID scenario, employees are facing emotional burnout due to increased work pressure and workload. Transformational leadership has become very critical to manage the PsyCap of followers by using correct EL strategies. Leaders can focus on the optimism and resilience aspect of PsyCap.

The current research has taken affective process theory (APT) as a foundation to understand the connection between transformational leadership and the PsyCap of followers. The study has specifically picked up the fourth mechanism of affective linkage as suggested by Elfenbein (2014) called emotional recognition and seen how emotions are transferred from source (leaders) to recipient (followers). The research has contributed by empirically testing the mediation of the perceived EL of leaders and the susceptible EC of followers and how they affect the PsyCap of followers.

This study aimed to examine the influence of psychological capital on the students' academic success in a PhD journey in Tanzania.

A cross-sectional survey design was used and data were collected through structured questionnaires from 200 PhD students in Tanzania. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the measurement model. The hypotheses were empirically tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The findings affirm that psychological capital in terms of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism are significant predictors of students' academic success in a PhD journey.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is among the first to comprehensively examine the influence of psychological capital on students' academic success in PhD studies. Previous studies have primarily focused on the undergraduate level. Additionally, this study extends the applicability of conservation of resource (COR) theory to the context of PhD students, demonstrating that psychological capital serves as a crucial resource for them to achieve success in their PhD studies.

This study aims to explore the NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training) experiences of young people living in impoverished settings.

Methodologically, this study was informed by a qualitative analysis of visual and textual data related to a body mapping exercise with eleven young people who were participants in a four-day start-up workshop in a larger action research project.

The findings reveal that, although being NEET negatively affects young people’s self-esteem, confidence, hope for the future and general well-being, body mapping can help them discover latent assets useful for reducing their insecurities.

Researchers using this method need to be well prepared to deal with possible emotional trauma, and to this end, we provide some guidelines for the effective implementation of body mapping.