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What Affects the Quality of Work Life Most?: Turkey Example

Year 2014, , 2 - 35, 31.10.2014
https://doi.org/10.18490/sosars.379159

Abstract

This study aims to examine whether there is a significant correlation between the quality
of work life and academic title, wages, total number of years in the organisation, total number
of years at position, type of employment, work arrangement type (full-time, part-time, etc.),
overtime, perceptions about protective nature of the organisation as well as such demographic
characteristics as age, gender and marital status, and also looks at the impact of these variables
on the quality of work life. The sample was composed of 570 academics from 4 universities in
Ankara. Correlation analysis revealed a positive and significant correlation between the quality
of work life and academic title, total number of years in the organisation, total number of years
at position, wages, age and gender whereas it showed a significant negative correlation between
the quality of work life and type of employment, marital status and protective nature of the
organisation.

References

  • Arnold, H. J., & Feldman., D. C. (1986). Organizational Behavior, Newyork: Mc. Graw Hill Book Co. Baba, V. V. & Jamal M. (1991). Routinization of job context and job content as related to employees' quality of working life: A study of Canadian nurses. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 12 (5), 379-386. Beh L.(2006). Predicting Quality of Work Life: The Implications of Career Dimensions, Academy of Taiwan Information Systems Research. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business and Information, 3 (1). (Non-ISI/Non-SCOPUS Cited Publication). Bhola, S. S. (2006). A Study of Quality of Work Life in Casting and Machine Shop Industry in Kolhapur. Finance India, 20 (1): 202-208. Bolhari, A., Rezaeean, Ali. Bolhari, Jafar. Bairamzadeh, Sona & Soltan, Amir Arzi (2011). The Relationship between Quality of Work Life and Demographic Characteristics of Information Technology Staffs. 2011 International Conference on Computer Communication and Management Proc.of CSIT, 5, IACSIT Press, Singapore. Can, A. (1991). Çalışma Hayatının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi. Verimlilik ve Çalışma Hayatının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi Sempozyumu, Ankara: MPM Yayınları. Cobb, C. W. (2000). Measurement Tools and the Quality Of Life, Redefining Progress, www.rprogress.org Accessed 24 June 2008. Chisholm R. F. (1983). Quality Of Working Life: Critical Issue for the 80s. Public Productivity Review, 7 (1), 10-25. Chan, K. W. & Wyatt, T. A. (2007). Quality of Work Life: A Study of Employees in Shanghai, China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 13 (4), 501-517. Cummings T.G. & Worley C.G. (1997). Organization Development and Change. South Western, Ohio. Davis, L. E., & Cherns, A. B. (1975) The quality of working life: Problems, Prospects, and the State of the Art (Vol. 1). NewYork: The Free Press. Davis, L.E. (1983). Design of New Organizations. In H. Kolody & H.V.beinum (Eds). The Quality of Working Life and the 1980s. (pp. 65-86) New York, Praeger Publisher. Dereli, T. (1991). Verimli bir Çalışma Ortamı Yaratan Faktörler ve Özellikleri. Verimlilik ve Çalışma Hayatının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi Sempozyumu, Milli Prodüktivite Merkezi Yayınları, 442, 83-93. DuBrin, A.J. (1988). Human Relations: a job oriented approach. New Jersey: PrenticeHall. Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S. & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived Organizational Support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71 (3), 500-507. Eisenberger, R. Cummings, J., Armeli, S. ve Lynch P. D. (1997). Perceived Organizational Support, Discretionary Treatment and Job Satisfaction, Journal of Apllied Psychology, 82 (5), 812-820. Glasier, E. (1976). State of the Art, Questions about Quality of Work Life, Personnel Greenberg J.B. & Baron R.A. (1993) Behavior in Organizations, 4th edn. Alley and Bacon, London. Groot, W. & Brink, H. M. (2000). Job Satisfaction, wages and allocation of men and women. In E. Diener ve D. Rahtz (Eds.), Advences in Quality of Life Ttheory and Research, (pp.111-128), Klumer Academic Publishers, Social Indicators Research Series, Volume, 4. Gümüş, A. (2008). EUA-TUSİAD “Yükseköğretim Sektörü” Raporu: Yükseköğretim İşletmeciliği Projesi. Eğitim Bilim Toplum Dergisi, 6, (23), 130-163. Gürsel, M., Izgar, H., Altınok, V. & Kesici, Ş. (2003), Endüstri ve Örgüt Psikolojisi İş Doyumu. Konya: Star Ofset Basım. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1980). Work redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Hannif Z., Burgess, J. & Connell J. (2008). Call Centres and the Quality of Work Life: Towards a Research Agenda. Journal of Industrial Relations, 50(2), 271–284. Igbaria, M., Parasuraman S. & Badawy M. K. (1994). Work Experiences, Job Involvement, and Quality of Work Life among Information Systems Personnel. MIS Quarterly, 18(2), 175-201. Islam, M. Z. & Siengthai S. (2009). Quality of work life and organizational performance: Empirical evidence from Dhaka Export Processing Zone. Paper presented to ILO Conference on Regulating for Decent Work, Geneva during July 8-10, 2009. http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/protection/travail/pdf/rdwpaper37a.pdf Accessed 13 October 2012 Jenkins D. (1981). QWL, Current Trends and Directions. Toronto Ontario Quality of Working Life Centre and Ministry of Labour, Occasional Paper No. 3. Judge, T. A. & Bretz, R. D. (1994). Political influence behavior and career success, Journal of Management. 20, 43-65. Kalleberg, A.L. (2000). Nonstandard Employment Relations: Part-time, Temporary, and Contract Work. Annual Review of Sociology 26:341-365. Kohl, M. L & Schooler, C. (1982). Job conditions and personality: A Longitudinal Assessment of Reciprocal Effects. American Journal of Sociology, 87, 1257-1286. Koonmee, K. & Virakul, B. (2007). Ethics, Quality of Work life, and Employee job-related outcomes: A survey of HR and Marketing managers in Thai business. Presented at The 2007 ISQOLS Conference (From QOL Concepts to QOL Performance Measures), December 6-9, 2007, San Diego Marriott Mission Valley, San Diego, California. http://www.hrd.nida.ac.th/administrator/rtefile/rte_19.pdf Accessed 14 June 2009. Kotze, M. (2005). The Nature and Development of the Construct Quality of Work Life. Acta Academia, 37(2), 96-122. Lawler E. E. III, (1982). Strategies for Improving the Quality of Work Life. American Psychologist, 37, 486-693. Lau R.S.M. and Bruce, E.M. (1998). A win-win paradigm for quality of work life and business performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 9(3): 211-226. Lau, T., Wong Y.H., Chan, K.F. & Law, M. (2001). Information Technology and the Work Environment-Does it Change the Way People Interact at Work. Human Systems Management, 20(3), 267-280 Lewis, D. Brazil K., Krueger, P., Lohfeld L. & Tjam, E. (2001). Extrinsic and Intrinsic Determinants of Quality of Work Life. Leadership in Health Services, 14(2), ix-xv. Locke, E. A., (1976). The nature and causes of job Satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette ve L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, (pp. 1319 - 1328). Palo Alto, C.A.: Consulting Psychologists Press. Martel, J. P. & Dupuis, G. (2006). Quality Of Work Life: Theoretical and Methodological Problems, And Presentation Of A New Model And Measuring Instrument. Social Indicators Research. 77, 333–368. Mirvis, P. H. & Lawler, E. E. (1984). Accounting For the Quality of Work Life. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 5, 197-212. Nadler, D. A. & Lawler, E. E. (1983). Quality of work life: Perspectives and directions. Organizational Dynamics, 11(3), 20-30. Naumann, S. E., Bies, R. J., & Martin, C. L. (1995). The roles of organizational support and justice during a layoff. Academy of Management Journal, Best Papers Proceedings 1995, 89–93. Özdevecioğlu, M. (2003). Algılanan Örgütsel Destek İle Örgütsel Bağlılık Arasındaki İlişkilerin Belirlenmesine Yönelik Bir Araştırma. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İ.İ.B.F.Dergisi, 18 (2,) 113 -130. Özdemir, Ç. M., Yüksel G., Cemaloğlu N. & Diğerleri. (2006). Türkiye Üniversiteleri Öğretim Elemanı Araştırması. Ankara: Gazi Üniversitesi Yayınları Rethinam G. S. & Ismail, M. (2008). Constructs of Quality of Work Life: A Perspective of Information and Technology Professionals. European Journal of Social Sciences. 7(1), 58-70. Rice, R.W., Janet, P.N. & Hunt, R.G. (1980). The job- satisfaction/life-satisfaction relationship:A review of empirical research. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1, 37–64. Rose, R. C., Beh, L. Uli J. & Idris. K. (2006). Quality Of Work Life: Implications of Career Dimensions. Journal of Social Sciences. 2 (2), 61-67. Royuela V., Lopez-Tamayo J. & Surinach, J. (2007). The Institutional vs. the academic definition of the Quality of work life. What is the focus of the European Commission?. Research Institute of Applied Economics. Working papers 2007/13. Saraji, G. N. & Dargahi, H. (2006). Study of Quality of Work Life (QWL). Iranian J Publ Health, 35 (4), 8-14. Shamir, B. & Salomon, I. (1985). Work at Home and Quality of Working Life. The Academy of Management Review, 10 (3), 455-464 Sirgy, M. J., Efraty, D., Siegel, P. & Lee, D. J. (2001). A New Measure of Quality of Work Life (QWL) Based on Need Satisfaction and Spillover Theories. Social Indicators Research. 55, 241-302. Sirgy, M. J., Reilly, N., Wu J. & Efraty, D. (2008). A Work-Life Identity Model of WellBeing: Towards a Research Agenda Linking Quality-of-Work-Life (QWL) Programs with Quality of Life (QOL). Applied Research in Quality of Life, 3(3), 181- 202. Ssesanga, K. & Garrett, R. M. (2005). Job Satisfaction of University Academics: Perspectives From Uganda. Higher Education 50, 33-56. Tasdemir Afsar, Selda. (2011). Effect of Quality of Work Life on Organizational Commitment Level: The Quantitative Research on Academicians in State and Foundation Universities (Unpublished PhD thesis). Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. Toplu, D. B., (1999). Çalışma Yaşamının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi: Türkiye’deki Kamu Kurum Arşivleri Örneği. Türk Kütüphaneciliği. 13 (3), 223-251. Türk Eğitim-Sen (2009). Türkiye’de Üniversite Sorunu ve Üniversite Çalışanları Üzerine Bir Araştırma, http://www.turkegitimsen.org.tr/lib_basili/94.pdf Accsessed 12 March 2010 Walton, R.E. (1975). Criteria for Quality of Working Life., In L.E. Davis ve A.B. Cherns (Eds.), The Quality of Working Life Vol.1 (s.91-104). New York: The Free Press. Winter R., Taylor T. & Sarros J. (2000). Trouble at Mill: Quality of Academic Worklife Issues within a Comprehensive Australian University. Studies in Higher Education, 25 (3), 279-294. Wurf J. (1982). Labor's View of Quality of Working Life Programs. Journal of Business Ethics, 1 (2), 131-137. Yılmaz Ş. (1990). Türkiye’de Verimlilik Sorunları ve MPM’nin Verimliliğe Katkıları. Verimlilik Dergisi, Verimlilik Özel Sayısı. Ankara: MPM Yayınları Yıldırım, E. (2000). Türkiye’deki Toplam Kalite Yönetimi Uygulamalarının İşçiler Ve Endüstri İlişkileri Üzerindeki Etkileri. Toplum ve Bilim, 86, 260-280. Yousuf S. M. A. (1995). Quality of Working Life As a Function of Socio-Technical System. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. Yousuf S. M. A. (1996) Evaluating the quality of work life. Management and Labour Studies. 21(1), 5–15
Year 2014, , 2 - 35, 31.10.2014
https://doi.org/10.18490/sosars.379159

Abstract

References

  • Arnold, H. J., & Feldman., D. C. (1986). Organizational Behavior, Newyork: Mc. Graw Hill Book Co. Baba, V. V. & Jamal M. (1991). Routinization of job context and job content as related to employees' quality of working life: A study of Canadian nurses. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 12 (5), 379-386. Beh L.(2006). Predicting Quality of Work Life: The Implications of Career Dimensions, Academy of Taiwan Information Systems Research. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business and Information, 3 (1). (Non-ISI/Non-SCOPUS Cited Publication). Bhola, S. S. (2006). A Study of Quality of Work Life in Casting and Machine Shop Industry in Kolhapur. Finance India, 20 (1): 202-208. Bolhari, A., Rezaeean, Ali. Bolhari, Jafar. Bairamzadeh, Sona & Soltan, Amir Arzi (2011). The Relationship between Quality of Work Life and Demographic Characteristics of Information Technology Staffs. 2011 International Conference on Computer Communication and Management Proc.of CSIT, 5, IACSIT Press, Singapore. Can, A. (1991). Çalışma Hayatının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi. Verimlilik ve Çalışma Hayatının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi Sempozyumu, Ankara: MPM Yayınları. Cobb, C. W. (2000). Measurement Tools and the Quality Of Life, Redefining Progress, www.rprogress.org Accessed 24 June 2008. Chisholm R. F. (1983). Quality Of Working Life: Critical Issue for the 80s. Public Productivity Review, 7 (1), 10-25. Chan, K. W. & Wyatt, T. A. (2007). Quality of Work Life: A Study of Employees in Shanghai, China. Asia Pacific Business Review, 13 (4), 501-517. Cummings T.G. & Worley C.G. (1997). Organization Development and Change. South Western, Ohio. Davis, L. E., & Cherns, A. B. (1975) The quality of working life: Problems, Prospects, and the State of the Art (Vol. 1). NewYork: The Free Press. Davis, L.E. (1983). Design of New Organizations. In H. Kolody & H.V.beinum (Eds). The Quality of Working Life and the 1980s. (pp. 65-86) New York, Praeger Publisher. Dereli, T. (1991). Verimli bir Çalışma Ortamı Yaratan Faktörler ve Özellikleri. Verimlilik ve Çalışma Hayatının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi Sempozyumu, Milli Prodüktivite Merkezi Yayınları, 442, 83-93. DuBrin, A.J. (1988). Human Relations: a job oriented approach. New Jersey: PrenticeHall. Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S. & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived Organizational Support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71 (3), 500-507. Eisenberger, R. Cummings, J., Armeli, S. ve Lynch P. D. (1997). Perceived Organizational Support, Discretionary Treatment and Job Satisfaction, Journal of Apllied Psychology, 82 (5), 812-820. Glasier, E. (1976). State of the Art, Questions about Quality of Work Life, Personnel Greenberg J.B. & Baron R.A. (1993) Behavior in Organizations, 4th edn. Alley and Bacon, London. Groot, W. & Brink, H. M. (2000). Job Satisfaction, wages and allocation of men and women. In E. Diener ve D. Rahtz (Eds.), Advences in Quality of Life Ttheory and Research, (pp.111-128), Klumer Academic Publishers, Social Indicators Research Series, Volume, 4. Gümüş, A. (2008). EUA-TUSİAD “Yükseköğretim Sektörü” Raporu: Yükseköğretim İşletmeciliği Projesi. Eğitim Bilim Toplum Dergisi, 6, (23), 130-163. Gürsel, M., Izgar, H., Altınok, V. & Kesici, Ş. (2003), Endüstri ve Örgüt Psikolojisi İş Doyumu. Konya: Star Ofset Basım. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1980). Work redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Hannif Z., Burgess, J. & Connell J. (2008). Call Centres and the Quality of Work Life: Towards a Research Agenda. Journal of Industrial Relations, 50(2), 271–284. Igbaria, M., Parasuraman S. & Badawy M. K. (1994). Work Experiences, Job Involvement, and Quality of Work Life among Information Systems Personnel. MIS Quarterly, 18(2), 175-201. Islam, M. Z. & Siengthai S. (2009). Quality of work life and organizational performance: Empirical evidence from Dhaka Export Processing Zone. Paper presented to ILO Conference on Regulating for Decent Work, Geneva during July 8-10, 2009. http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/protection/travail/pdf/rdwpaper37a.pdf Accessed 13 October 2012 Jenkins D. (1981). QWL, Current Trends and Directions. Toronto Ontario Quality of Working Life Centre and Ministry of Labour, Occasional Paper No. 3. Judge, T. A. & Bretz, R. D. (1994). Political influence behavior and career success, Journal of Management. 20, 43-65. Kalleberg, A.L. (2000). Nonstandard Employment Relations: Part-time, Temporary, and Contract Work. Annual Review of Sociology 26:341-365. Kohl, M. L & Schooler, C. (1982). Job conditions and personality: A Longitudinal Assessment of Reciprocal Effects. American Journal of Sociology, 87, 1257-1286. Koonmee, K. & Virakul, B. (2007). Ethics, Quality of Work life, and Employee job-related outcomes: A survey of HR and Marketing managers in Thai business. Presented at The 2007 ISQOLS Conference (From QOL Concepts to QOL Performance Measures), December 6-9, 2007, San Diego Marriott Mission Valley, San Diego, California. http://www.hrd.nida.ac.th/administrator/rtefile/rte_19.pdf Accessed 14 June 2009. Kotze, M. (2005). The Nature and Development of the Construct Quality of Work Life. Acta Academia, 37(2), 96-122. Lawler E. E. III, (1982). Strategies for Improving the Quality of Work Life. American Psychologist, 37, 486-693. Lau R.S.M. and Bruce, E.M. (1998). A win-win paradigm for quality of work life and business performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 9(3): 211-226. Lau, T., Wong Y.H., Chan, K.F. & Law, M. (2001). Information Technology and the Work Environment-Does it Change the Way People Interact at Work. Human Systems Management, 20(3), 267-280 Lewis, D. Brazil K., Krueger, P., Lohfeld L. & Tjam, E. (2001). Extrinsic and Intrinsic Determinants of Quality of Work Life. Leadership in Health Services, 14(2), ix-xv. Locke, E. A., (1976). The nature and causes of job Satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette ve L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, (pp. 1319 - 1328). Palo Alto, C.A.: Consulting Psychologists Press. Martel, J. P. & Dupuis, G. (2006). Quality Of Work Life: Theoretical and Methodological Problems, And Presentation Of A New Model And Measuring Instrument. Social Indicators Research. 77, 333–368. Mirvis, P. H. & Lawler, E. E. (1984). Accounting For the Quality of Work Life. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 5, 197-212. Nadler, D. A. & Lawler, E. E. (1983). Quality of work life: Perspectives and directions. Organizational Dynamics, 11(3), 20-30. Naumann, S. E., Bies, R. J., & Martin, C. L. (1995). The roles of organizational support and justice during a layoff. Academy of Management Journal, Best Papers Proceedings 1995, 89–93. Özdevecioğlu, M. (2003). Algılanan Örgütsel Destek İle Örgütsel Bağlılık Arasındaki İlişkilerin Belirlenmesine Yönelik Bir Araştırma. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İ.İ.B.F.Dergisi, 18 (2,) 113 -130. Özdemir, Ç. M., Yüksel G., Cemaloğlu N. & Diğerleri. (2006). Türkiye Üniversiteleri Öğretim Elemanı Araştırması. Ankara: Gazi Üniversitesi Yayınları Rethinam G. S. & Ismail, M. (2008). Constructs of Quality of Work Life: A Perspective of Information and Technology Professionals. European Journal of Social Sciences. 7(1), 58-70. Rice, R.W., Janet, P.N. & Hunt, R.G. (1980). The job- satisfaction/life-satisfaction relationship:A review of empirical research. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1, 37–64. Rose, R. C., Beh, L. Uli J. & Idris. K. (2006). Quality Of Work Life: Implications of Career Dimensions. Journal of Social Sciences. 2 (2), 61-67. Royuela V., Lopez-Tamayo J. & Surinach, J. (2007). The Institutional vs. the academic definition of the Quality of work life. What is the focus of the European Commission?. Research Institute of Applied Economics. Working papers 2007/13. Saraji, G. N. & Dargahi, H. (2006). Study of Quality of Work Life (QWL). Iranian J Publ Health, 35 (4), 8-14. Shamir, B. & Salomon, I. (1985). Work at Home and Quality of Working Life. The Academy of Management Review, 10 (3), 455-464 Sirgy, M. J., Efraty, D., Siegel, P. & Lee, D. J. (2001). A New Measure of Quality of Work Life (QWL) Based on Need Satisfaction and Spillover Theories. Social Indicators Research. 55, 241-302. Sirgy, M. J., Reilly, N., Wu J. & Efraty, D. (2008). A Work-Life Identity Model of WellBeing: Towards a Research Agenda Linking Quality-of-Work-Life (QWL) Programs with Quality of Life (QOL). Applied Research in Quality of Life, 3(3), 181- 202. Ssesanga, K. & Garrett, R. M. (2005). Job Satisfaction of University Academics: Perspectives From Uganda. Higher Education 50, 33-56. Tasdemir Afsar, Selda. (2011). Effect of Quality of Work Life on Organizational Commitment Level: The Quantitative Research on Academicians in State and Foundation Universities (Unpublished PhD thesis). Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. Toplu, D. B., (1999). Çalışma Yaşamının Kalitesinin Geliştirilmesi: Türkiye’deki Kamu Kurum Arşivleri Örneği. Türk Kütüphaneciliği. 13 (3), 223-251. Türk Eğitim-Sen (2009). Türkiye’de Üniversite Sorunu ve Üniversite Çalışanları Üzerine Bir Araştırma, http://www.turkegitimsen.org.tr/lib_basili/94.pdf Accsessed 12 March 2010 Walton, R.E. (1975). Criteria for Quality of Working Life., In L.E. Davis ve A.B. Cherns (Eds.), The Quality of Working Life Vol.1 (s.91-104). New York: The Free Press. Winter R., Taylor T. & Sarros J. (2000). Trouble at Mill: Quality of Academic Worklife Issues within a Comprehensive Australian University. Studies in Higher Education, 25 (3), 279-294. Wurf J. (1982). Labor's View of Quality of Working Life Programs. Journal of Business Ethics, 1 (2), 131-137. Yılmaz Ş. (1990). Türkiye’de Verimlilik Sorunları ve MPM’nin Verimliliğe Katkıları. Verimlilik Dergisi, Verimlilik Özel Sayısı. Ankara: MPM Yayınları Yıldırım, E. (2000). Türkiye’deki Toplam Kalite Yönetimi Uygulamalarının İşçiler Ve Endüstri İlişkileri Üzerindeki Etkileri. Toplum ve Bilim, 86, 260-280. Yousuf S. M. A. (1995). Quality of Working Life As a Function of Socio-Technical System. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. Yousuf S. M. A. (1996) Evaluating the quality of work life. Management and Labour Studies. 21(1), 5–15
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Selda Taşdemir Afşar

Publication Date October 31, 2014
Submission Date January 1, 2014
Published in Issue Year 2014

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APA Taşdemir Afşar, S. (2014). What Affects the Quality of Work Life Most?: Turkey Example. Sosyoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi, 17(2), 2-35. https://doi.org/10.18490/sosars.379159

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Sosyoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi / Journal of Sociological Research

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