Tracy Chang - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Tracy Chang

Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 2022

Objective: This study evaluates the effect of Inner Engineering Online (IEO) on subjective well-b... more Objective: This study evaluates the effect of Inner Engineering Online (IEO) on subjective well-being and positive work outcomes. Design: The study uses a field quasi-experimental one group design with pre- and post-tests. Interventions: IEO is a multicomponent online self-paced program. The program consists of seven online sessions to be completed over a 4-week period. Results: The study finds that IEO has a positive effect on subjective well-being (mindfulness, joy, vitality, restfulness, and oneness) and positive work outcomes (meaningful work, psychological capital, and work engagement). Conclusion: The findings on IEO have important practical implications for improving subjective well-being and work experiences.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2021

Background: Meditation is gaining recognition as a tool to impact health and well-being. Samyama ... more Background: Meditation is gaining recognition as a tool to impact health and well-being. Samyama is an 8-day intensive residential meditation experience conducted by Isha Foundation requiring several months of extensive preparation and vegan diet. The health effects of Samyama have not been previously studied. The objective was to assess physical and emotional well-being before and after Samyama participation by evaluating psychological surveys and objective health biomarkers.Methods: This was an observational study of 632 adults before and after the Isha Samyama retreat. All participants were invited to complete surveys. Controls included household significant others. Surveys were completed at baseline (T1), just before Samyama (T2), immediately after Samyama (T3), and 3 months later (T4) to assess anxiety, depression, mindfulness, joy, vitality, and resilience through validated psychometric scales. Voluntary blood sampling for biomarker analysis was done to assess hemoglobin (Hb),...

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2018

Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 2021

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2020

Background. Anxiety and depression are common in the modern world, and there is growing demand fo... more Background. Anxiety and depression are common in the modern world, and there is growing demand for alternative therapies such as meditation. Meditation can decrease perceived stress and increase general well-being, although the physiological mechanism is not well-characterized. Endocannabinoids (eCBs), lipid mediators associated with enhanced mood and reduced anxiety/depression, have not been previously studied as biomarkers of meditation effects. Our aim was to assess biomarkers (eCBs and brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF]) and psychological parameters after a meditation retreat. Methods. This was an observational pilot study of adults before and after the 4-day Isha Yoga Bhava Spandana Program retreat. Participants completed online surveys (before and after retreat, and 1 month later) to assess anxiety, depression, focus, well-being, and happiness through validated psychological scales. Voluntary blood sampling for biomarker studies was done before and within a day after the...

The Social Science Journal, 2003

This paper develops a theoretical model that explains how race, gender, and class affect people's... more This paper develops a theoretical model that explains how race, gender, and class affect people's attitudes toward labor unions. The model predicates that race and gender stratify people into social and economic classes and that race, gender, and class influence people's attitudes toward labor unions directly and indirectly through their experience of economic hardship. The study uses data from the 1991 General Social Survey to test the model. The results showed that race and gender affect people's socioeconomic position, and that race and class affect union attitudes directly and indirectly through negative economic events. Gender, however, does not have a direct effect on union attitudes but has an indirect effect on union attitudes through disadvantaged socioeconomic position.

The Political Quarterly, 2001

Labor Studies Journal, 2005

This study investigates the ways in which local union leaders define shop stewards' roles and... more This study investigates the ways in which local union leaders define shop stewards' roles and the ideology that underlies their conception. Drawing on sociological theories, the author proposes three major role ideologies: conflict/activist, rationalization/bureaucratic, and functionalist/cooperative. Based on a survey of southern local union leaders, the study finds that "grievance handler" and "representative" are the most commonly identified roles for stewards. Union leaders conceive of stewards' roles in ways that reflect diffuse ideologies; nevertheless, rationalization and functionalist ideologies are more prevalent than conflict ideology.

Labor Studies Journal, 2002

Over the last two decades, the U.S. prison population has qua drupled, with some 1.9 million peop... more Over the last two decades, the U.S. prison population has qua drupled, with some 1.9 million people behind bars in federal and state prisons, and local jails by the year 2000. Corporations are seeking profit-making opportunities from this prison population. In this paper, we examine two major areas through which corpora tions are capitalizing on prison labor: prison privatization and prison industry. We briefly review key explanations of incarceration, re port on the current state of prison privatization and prison indus trialization, examine the impact they have on organized labor, and propose union strategies in fighting against the expansion of cor porate power in the correctional industry.

Labor Studies Journal, 2003

This paper examines the impact of environmental and organizational characteristics on the elector... more This paper examines the impact of environmental and organizational characteristics on the electoral mobilization activities of local unions in the 2000 presidential election. Based on a sample of 140 southern local unions, the study finds that, externally, the strength of the labor movement relative to competing political interests in the state, along with the organizing and political activities of international unions, promotes the electoral activism of local unions. However, both economic inequalities and racial conflicts seem to discourage the electoral activities of local unions. Internally, the development of rank-and-file leadership and internal organizing also supports the electoral activism of local unions. The implications of the results and some directions for future research are discussed.

Labor Studies Journal, 2004

This paper analyzes a case study of a campaign in rural Alabama in 2000, when the Paper, Allied-I... more This paper analyzes a case study of a campaign in rural Alabama in 2000, when the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) organized against the French-based Imerys Groupe (the product of the 1999 merger of English China Clays and Imetal). Within days of the merger, Imerys withdrew recognition and implemented new terms and conditions of employment at the former Imetal plant where PACE had repre sented the workforce. PACE at once developed a systematic three- part plan of action to counter the company's strategy. The three interdependent parts included: a) the traditional, local campaign in Alabama; b) regulatory challenges through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Europe; and c) the international campaign coordinated through the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and Gen eral Workers Union (ICEM) in Washington, ...

Labor Studies Journal, 2000

sector, while Daniel Czitrom and Stephen Watt examine the special plights of teaching assistants ... more sector, while Daniel Czitrom and Stephen Watt examine the special plights of teaching assistants and other kinds of academic &dquo;apprentices,&dquo; respectively. James D. Sullivan contributes a chapter on gender and status in the academy, while Linda Ray Pratt and Karen Thompson, in separate pieces, take on the topic of part-time faculty as one type of a conscious management strategy of cutting labor costs and exploiting qualified labor. Ellen Schrecker muses on how the continuing advancement of technology will shape the future classroom in higher education. A forward by Barbara Ehrenreich and an introduction by the editor round out the volume. At times readers may find the volume’s tone too polemical or, on occasion, too self-congratulatory. But, overall, the collection is a valuable and much-needed effort on a serious problem with potentially long-lasting and far-reaching repercussions.

Career Development International, 2003

This study develops a social psychological model to account for women’s gender‐typed occupational... more This study develops a social psychological model to account for women’s gender‐typed occupational mobility. The model delineates that occupational gender composition affects women’s psychological experience (experience of sex discrimination, self‐efficacy, and gender role ideology), and that this psychological experience, in turn, contributes to their mobility between male‐dominated and female‐dominated occupations. Using the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) of Young Women data, the study finds that occupational gender composition affects women’s report of experience of sex discrimination but not self‐efficacy or gender role ideology. Self‐efficacy contributes to women’s gender‐typed occupational mobility, but experience of sex discrimination and gender role ideology do not. The direction for future research is discussed.