In the world of university research, although the figure of project manager is not formally foreseen, the principal researcher (PR) is, at many times, the last responsible the project results, schedule, and cost. The study aimed to investigate, in the light of the literature and through a cross-cultural study conducted in Italy and Poland, the relationship between soft skills (empowering leadership style, self-efficacy beliefs, and collective efficacy) of the principal researcher (PR) and the perceived success of research projects and satisfaction with the project, taking into account cross-cultural differences. A total of 67 PRs of complex projects in public universities (28 in Italy and 39 in Poland) participated in the study, completing a self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational analyses. The results showed a significantly higher mean value for team management self-efficacy in a Polish sample and a higher satisfaction with projects in Italian sample. All the soft skills included in the study were related to project success and satisfaction with the project. The results could be used to identify possible ways of intervention to establish a more mature project culture in public research organizations.

Background: Objectification involves perceiving and instrumentally treating other people as mere tools useful for satisfying the perceiver’s goals. While several situational factors facilitating objectification have been identified, only a few studies have examined personal predictors of objectification. To find out more about personality correlates of the objectifying approach towards other people, we examined its relationship with basic and dark personality traits.Participants and procedure: The sample comprised 372 participants (222 women), ranging in age from 18 to 55 years (M = 34.14, SD = 8.48). To measure study variables, we used a modified version of the Objectification Scale (objectification), the IPIP-BFM-20 (Big Five personality dimensions), DTDD-P (dark personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy), HSNS (vulnerable narcissism), PES (psychological entitlement), IES (interpersonal exploitativeness), PRNS (positive reciprocity norms), and NRNS (negative reciprocity norms).Results: We found that, when controlling for other personality variables and demographics, agreeableness, intellect, and a tendency to use positive norms of reciprocity negatively predicted objectification, and exploitativeness and entitlement were positively associated with the general tendency to objectify others.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a propensity for objectification is predicted by an unwillingness to maintain positive relationships with others, lower intellectual openness, higher entitlement and exploitativeness, and low tendency to positively respond to others’ favors. The associations with these personality traits may allow for better understanding of – typical for objectification – high focus on fulfilling one’s own interests and readiness to exploit others while disregarding their interests and ignoring human attributes such as subjectivity and uniqueness.

This book examines cyberloafing, employees’ voluntary use of Internet-enabled technologies for personal purposes during paid working time. It treats

Based on the evidence gathered, the author questions the effectiveness of traditional, purely restrictive Internet policies. The chapter instead advocates a