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This study aimed to investigate the impact of job boredom on job outcomes, namely, job satisfaction and counterproductive work behavior, focusing on the role of different types of mind-wandering – spontaneous and deliberate mind-wandering. The results showed that deliberate mind-wandering mediates the link between job boredom and job satisfaction, while spontaneous mind-wandering mediates the connection between job boredom and counterproductive work behavior. In essence, when employees experience boredom at work, their spontaneous mind-wandering can lead to harmful behaviors, affecting their colleagues and organizations. On the other hand, deliberate mind-wandering can improve job satisfaction. This study provides valuable insights for managing job boredom and suggests future research directions.
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The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/EK7XD .
We included gender, occupation, and income as covariates during analysis. However, we did not find significant moderating effects of these covariates on any mediation paths [e.g., gender ( ps > 0.123), occupation ( ps > 0.092), and income ( ps > 0.463)].
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School of Psychology, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, South Korea
Garam Kim, Jeanette Min & Eunsoo Choi
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Correspondence to Eunsoo Choi .
Ethical approval.
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments, or comparable ethical standards. The data collection process for this research was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board at the Korea University, Seoul, Korea (KUIRB-2023-0381-01exempt status approved).
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
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Kim, G., Min, J. & Choi, E. Brief report: the role of mind-wandering (spontaneous vs. deliberate) in directing job boredom towards job satisfaction and counterproductive work behavior. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06629-7
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Accepted : 28 August 2024
Published : 02 September 2024
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06629-7
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Heading into the 2024-2025 school year, a growing number of states are implementing or considering state-wide bans on cellphones in schools. Many leaders in education and policymakers suggest cellphone bans will help mitigate youth mental health concerns and distractions during academic instruction. The resurgence of cellphone bans follows two advisories from the U.S. Surgeon General on the youth mental health crisis and the harmful impacts of social media use and recommendations from UNESCO to limit cellphone use in schools across the world. Unlike many recent political issues, school cellphone ban policies have largely received bipartisan support, and the Biden-Harris administration continues to promote online safety for youth. At the same time, research on the effectiveness of cellphone bans is limited, and although multiple states are adopting these bans, challenges remain with enforcement, accommodating exceptions, and equity.
Cellphone bans began decades ago amid concerns about drug deals among students via cellphones or pager devices, and have fluctuated since. In 2009, 91% of public schools prohibited cellphone use, which fell to 66% in 2015 before rising again to 76% in 2021. Cellphone bans are now being considered at the state level in light of growing student academic and mental health concerns that are associated with excessive use of smartphones.
Seven states have passed state-wide policies that ban or restrict cellphone use in schools as of September 4, 2024 (Figure 1) . These policies vary from state to state.
Fourteen states have introduced state-wide legislation that bans or restricts cellphone use in schools and education departments in six states have issued recommended policies or pilot programs that similarly aim to ban or restrict cellphone use in schools (Figure 1) . States are taking a variety of measures to mitigate cellphone use during instruction time. In Alabama , Connecticut , New Hampshire , and West Virginia , their respective education departments have issued guidance on restricting cellphone use in schools (Figure 1). Pilot programs via the education departments in Arkansas and Delaware allocate funds for students to use lockable magnetic phone pouches during school hours. Similarly, while legislation is under consideration in Pennsylvania, the Governor amended the existing School Safety and Mental Health grant program, allowing for the purchase of lockable phone pouches. Georgia has restricted access to social media platforms during school, and New Jersey established a commission to study the effects of social media use at school. Arizona and Utah each introduced bills that subsequently failed, but draft bills indicate that these states continue to work towards phone-free learning environments.
Implementation and enforcement of cellphone bans may be difficult to navigate . The enforcement of these cellphone bans often becomes an added responsibility for teachers . Exceptions to these bans are also challenging to navigate as many students may need their devices for medical reasons or parents have differing expectations for maintaining contact. Additionally, cellphone bans have brought to light equity concerns – for example, New York’s prior state-wide cellphone ban was lifted in 2015 in part because of stricter enforcement at schools serving students from low-income households compared to schools serving students from high-income households. At the same time, banning cellphones has been linked to positive outcomes, such as improved test scores , especially among students who typically do not perform as well academically.
Youth often use cellphones to access social media and social media is linked to poor mental health . In 2023, a survey of adolescents found that 51% reported using social media for at least four hours per day. Adolescent social media use is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression, exposure to harmful content – the effects of which adolescents are more susceptible to – and body dissatisfaction and eating disorders , especially among girls. Excessive social media use and social media addiction are associated with sleep issues , which may result in negative neurological effects . However, social media use among youth can also be beneficial as it allows for self-expression, finding communities with shared interests, and accessing important resources, including mental health resources.
Approximately nine in ten public schools report occurrences of cyberbullying – a form of bullying through technological devices, including cellphones – among students (Figure 2) . Cyberbullying is associated with social and emotional distress , depression , and suicidal ideation among youth and is more often experienced by female and sexual minority youth compared to their peers. In 2023, 16% of high school students reported electronic bullying, and this was heightened among LGBT+ adolescents (25%) and females (21%). Technological devices can also be used to create and spread digitally altered pornographic content without consent – a practice that primarily targets females and may negatively impact their mental health. Further, cellphone ownership among youth is linked to increased experiences of cyberbullying.
Excessive cellphone use can distract from in-person socialization and is associated with loneliness among adolescents . Establishing and building relationships with peers is beneficial to youth well-being and can have a protective effect on adolescents experiencing adversity. With the distraction of cellphones, peer relationship-building may be negatively impacted.
Approximately 40% of public schools report moderate to severe negative impacts on student learning and on teacher and staff morale when students use their electronic devices without permission (Figure 3) . Many teachers report that students being distracted with their cellphones is a major problem in their classrooms and that enforcing cellphone restrictions is challenging. The presence of smart phones may reduce cognitive capacity, especially for those highly addicted to their phones, and notifications disrupt focus and attention. Further, there is a negative association between time spent on smartphones and academic performance.
While evidence on the outcomes of school cellphone bans is limited, widespread concerns regarding the harms of smartphone use on youth well-being continue to invoke action by policymakers and leaders in education . Emerging research on student outcomes is mixed, with some studies suggesting improvements in student mental health and academic performance and a reduction in bullying, and others showing little to no change. While evidence on school bans is inconsistent, rising concerns regarding the harms of social media and internet use among youth have led to policy and safety measures being introduced at the state and federal level. For instance, policymakers recently introduced bipartisan legislation – the Focus on Learning Act – that calls on the U.S. Department of Education to conduct studies on the impact of cellphone use on students’ academic and mental health outcomes, among other provisions. Cellphone bans in schools, however, cannot serve as the sole response to technology-associated harm to youth. Other multi-prong approaches are also being implemented, such as the Biden-Harris administration’s continued efforts to improve online safety for children. These include creating the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force , which recently released Best Practices for Families and Guidance for Industry , and a Call to Action to mitigate image-based sexual abuse. Additionally, the Surgeon General recommended that social media platforms include a warning label that states that social media is linked to poor mental health among adolescents.
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Research Brief Basics. Definition and Purpose: A research brief is a short, targeted summary of a research study or project. Its primary purposes are to: Inform decision-makers who might not have time for in-depth reports. Influence policy by highlighting key research outcomes.
2. Be clear on your objectives. This is one of the most important parts of your brief to convey to the reader what you want out of the project and ensure you get results which deliver. Projects should have around three or four overarching aims which set out what the project ultimately wants to achieve.
Research Report is a written document that presents the results of a research project or study, including the research question, methodology, results, and conclusions, in a clear and objective manner. ... The introduction sets the stage for the research report and provides a brief overview of the research question or problem being investigated ...
topic.Or you could introduce a problem; say why it is important; summarise what happens, to whom and where; outline the efects of the current sit. text)Trying to edit a long academic paper into a short policy focused one is impo. sible. Take a step back, think of the big picture and write from s.
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Writing a Research Report in American Psychological ...
Writing a Research Report Writing Centre Learning Guide As a university student you may be required to write a variety of reports for ... Abstract/Synopsis - This gives a very brief overview of the report in a condensed form. For more specific details on how to write this, please refer to the Learning Guide Writing an Abstract. STEP 7
1. It's fast becoming the norm that clients come to us without a written brief. Sure, they know what they want to achieve, what their objectives are, but they don't know how to write a ...
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Brief Reports are small (no more than 2500 words), often preliminary studies, that contain only essential references, and minimal tables and figures, placing full attention on empirical methods, results and data analysis, and the implications of those results. Brief Reports focus on issues of methodology and observation.
Your research report should include illustrations and other visual representations of your data. Graphs, pie charts, and relevant images lend additional credibility to your systematic investigation. Choose the Right Title; A good research report title is brief, precise, and contains keywords from your research.
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Guidelines - Brief Report. Brief reports are similar to original research in that they follow the same rigor, format and guidelines, but are designed for small-scale research or research that is in early stages of development. These may include preliminary studies that utilize a simple research design or a small sample size and that have ...
The abstract is a brief summary of the research paper, typically ranging from 100 to 250 words. It should include the research question, the methods used, the key findings, and the implications of the results. The abstract should be written in a concise and clear manner to allow readers to quickly grasp the essence of the research. Introduction
What Exactly IS a Research Brief? A research brief is a concise, non-technical summary of the key takeaways from a research study. Briefs communicate research insights to the public, thereby translating research and evidence-based practices into real-world settings. The focus of a brief varies depending on the intended audience., Provide ...
A research brief is a statement that comes from the sponsor, who sets the objectives and background. This is to enable the researcher to plan the research and conduct an appropriate study on it. Research Brief can be as good as a market research study and is very important to a researcher. It provides good insight and influences on the choice ...
Everyone who works at an advertising agency should know how to write a marketing research brief. The creatives at FIU and Miami Ad School have provided a step by step guide to give you a head start. While studying in FIU/MAS's Global Strategic Communication Creative Track graduate program you will be weighing your career options upon ...
When you write a thesis, dissertation, or research paper, you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to: ... reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasize the timeliness ...
Research articles do not have an authorship limit, but other articles may have limits to the number of credited authors. ... Brief Report. Describes 1-3 patients or a single family. See Example ...
What Is a Brief Report? From the word "brief" itself, you already have a sense of what a brief report is—a short research report of any event, project, case, or research. Although brief reports have similar rules and formats to basic or longer research reports, the major difference is that brief reports are often used for smaller-scale projects.
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This brief summarizes key themes from a virtual convening on child care and early education (CCEE) research during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is intended to be a product that can advance discussions about lessons learned from changes made to CCEE research during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. is entering the 2024/25 soybean marketing year, which starts Sept. 1, with an abysmal export sales pace for new-crop bookings. As of mid-August, new-crop U.S. export sales to all destinations were the lowest since 2008 for the same period - aside from the low achieved in 2019 during the trade war with China.
This study aimed to investigate the impact of job boredom on job outcomes, namely, job satisfaction and counterproductive work behavior, focusing on the role of different types of mind-wandering - spontaneous and deliberate mind-wandering. The results showed that deliberate mind-wandering mediates the link between job boredom and job satisfaction, while spontaneous mind-wandering mediates ...
This Technical Brief provides an evidence map that summarizes service categories of HCBS and describes the research on the interventions and populations have been studied and quality measures proposed for HCBS. This Technical Brief also identifies gaps in the evidence base. ... Download the file for this report here. Full Report (PDF, 5 MB ...
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Another direction for further research raised by this study was the question of whether approval from the line manager for an employee to take time off work to attend wellbeing training may, in itself, be protective of employee wellbeing by permitting and encouraging self-care. Further research could examine these hypothesised mechanisms directly.
Heading into the 2024-2025 school year, a growing number of states are implementing or considering state-wide bans on cellphones in schools. Many leaders in education and policymakers suggest ...