Browsing by Subject "Envy"

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A methodological framework for cross-asset resource allocations to support infrastructure management
(2016-08) Porras-Alvarado, Juan Diego; Zhang, Zhanmin, 1962-; Machemehl, Randy; Walton, Michael; Bhasin, Amit; Gao, Lu
Resource allocation mechanisms have become a major issue for transportation agencies in the United States and around the world. For this reason, transportation agencies are exploring alternatives to modify traditional allocation mechanism due to budgetary challenges generated by the decrease in funding and the increasing cost of preserving and operating transportation systems. Transportation asset management (TAM) practices enable agencies to change the operation and management of transportation infrastructure from the traditional concept of “public-owned” systems to more business-oriented processes. One of the main concerns with the TAM framework and its implementation is the absence of an organized process for cross-asset resource allocations. Additionally, most of the alternative methods for funding allocations focus on maximizing infrastructure performance under budget constraints, but ignore the consideration of equity or fairness. The objective of this study is to develop an innovative methodological framework for cross-asset resource allocations, yielding a data-oriented approach to enhancing infrastructure management. The allocation module is comprised of three resource allocation mechanisms following a top-down approach: a fair division approach based on asset performance, a performance-based multi-objective optimization, and an asset value-based multi-objective optimization. In the first mechanism, the fair division method is used to allocate resources in such a way that all parties involved believe they are receiving a fair share of the available resource based on established utility functions. Then, Collective Utility Functions (CUFs) are employed to perform the resource allocation, which results in total utility and total envy values. These values are used to conduct trade-off analyses of the different allocations based on the CUFs. Under the second procedure, a multi-objective optimization formulation is employed to integrate efficiency and equity, where equity is taken into consideration by using utility and envy concepts, while efficiency is incorporated by maximizing performance. In the third mechanism, an innovative asset value methodology is integrated into the cross-asset resource allocation process, serving as a common comparative measure between assets. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodological framework, a case study was conducted using two asset groups, pavements and bridges, from the roadway network of the Austin District located in Texas. Results from the case study shows that the proposed methodological framework has great potential as a tool to support highway agencies in performing cross-asset resource allocations at the network level.
Communicative responses to malicious envy at work
(2006) Malone, Patty Callish; Daly, John A. (John Augustine), 1952-
Envy is a ubiquitous emotion in the workplace and frequently harmful. Previous research into malicious envy in the workplace consists of theoretical discussions but minimal empirical studies. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine malicious envy in the workplace: causes of malicious envy, communicative responses to malicious envy, and the factors that influence choices of communicative responses to feelings of envy in the workplace. This dissertation consists of two studies that use both qualitative and quantitative methods. The first study used inductive analysis to generate categories for causes of malicious envy in the workplace and responses to malicious envy in the workplace. 271 participants from a broad spectrum of organizations responded to the survey for Study One. The second study developed scale items generated from the inductive analysis in Study One for causes and responses. Factor analysis was used to examine underlying dimensions for causes and responses. Correlations were computed to determine associations between causes and responses and between several other variables (injustice, competitive organizational environment, organization based self-esteem, and hostility) and responses. A scale was also developed to measure degree of malicious envy. 429 participants from a wide variety of organizations responded to the survey for Study Two. Factors for causes of malicious envy included unfair, deserved, favorites, reward, misled, credit, and inadequate. Factors for responses to malicious envy included reassurance, negative emotion, commiserate, ignored, notice me, talk to boss, anger at job, negative other, and harassed. There were also numerous associations between causes and responses. Factors that affect communicative responses to malicious envy in the workplace include perceived causes, strength of malicious envy, a sense of injustice, a competitive organizational environment, organizational based self-esteem, and a sense of hostility. One surprising result indicated employees were more likely to respond in constructive ways before responding in destructive ways. This dissertation contributes to the literature by focusing on malicious envy in the workplace versus general envy, developing a new scale measuring degree of malicious envy, exploring causes of malicious envy and communicative responses to malicious envy, and examining the factors that affect communicative responses to malicious envy.
Dissatisfied by design: the evolution of discontent
(2006) Hill, Sarah Elizabeth; Buss, David M.
The following will explore multiple evolutionary psychological hypotheses, all of which bear on the nature of human satisfaction. I first address human decision-making across multiple domains of resource competition, hypothesizing that preferences for goods in some domains are not judged according to absolute amounts of resource holdings, but rather on how much one has compared to others —a positional bias. Studies 1 and 2 will explore the positional bias and how it affects men’s and women’s decision-making behaviors. I will then address one of the human motivational systems likely involved in facilitating behavior that is consistent with the positional bias: the emotion of envy. Studies 3, 4, and 5 will explore sex differences in men’s and women’s envy experiences and the role played by envy in social memory. The current studies present new data that provide novel insights into the nature of satisfaction, well-being, and important decision-making processes that guide human social behavior in a variety of domains.