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While religiosity as a field of inquiry has been gaining research interest in recent years, a central issue about its conceptualisation, measurement, and relationships with work outcomes remains unresolved. The aims of this paper are: (1) to introduce a new scale designed to measure religiosity among Muslims, based on an Islamic perspective that centres on the bodily action or human activity (Islam), the mind or understanding of God (iman), and the spirit or actualisation of virtue and goodness (ihsan); and (2) to demonstrate how religiosity relates to various work outcomes. We followed a rigorous multi-steps scale development procedure using four empirical studies involving 703 participants. The final scale yielded one factor with 10 underlying items. Our results showed that religiosity was positively correlated with job satisfaction, positive work behaviour, workplace integrity, and organisational commitment, but negatively correlated with antagonistic work behaviour. This new scale also showed incremental validity over an existing Muslim attitude scale in predicting organisational commitment and integrity. Overall, this new scale demonstrates good psychometric properties and is a promising tool for the measurement of religiosity among Muslims in organisational settings. Religiusitas pada Muslim: Pengembangan Skala dan Validasi Studi Abstrak Meski belakangan ini religiusitas telah mendapatkan perhatian riset-riset, masalah fundamental tentang konseptualisasi, pengukuran, dan hubungan dengan kinerja individu dalam organisasi masih belum terpecahkan. Tujuan dari artikel ini adalah: (1) memperkenalkan skala baru yang disusun untuk mengukur religiusitas pada Muslim di mana ini didasari oleh perspektif Islam yang berpusat pada perilaku atau aktivitas manusia (Islam), benak atau pemahaman akan Tuhan (iman), dan semangat aktualisasi nilai-nilai dan kebaikan (ihsan); dan (2) menunjukkan bagaimana religiusitas bisa berhubungan dengan berbagai kinerja kerja individu. Kami melakukan pengembangan skala lewat beberapa tahapan ketat menggunakan empat studi empiris dengan 703 partisipan. Skala akhir terdiri atas satu faktor dengan 10 aitem. Hasil juga menunjukkan bahwa religiusitas berkorelasi positif dengan kepuasan kerja, perilaku kerja positif, integritas kerja, dan komitmen organisasi, serta berkorelasi negatif dengan perilaku kerja antagonistik. Secara umum, skala baru ini menunjukkan properti psikometrik yang baik dan bisa menjadi instrumen menjanjikan untuk mengukur religiusitas Muslim di lingkungan organisasi.

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A B S T R A C TResearch suggests that white noise may facilitate auditory working memory performance via stochastic resonance. Stochastic resonance is quantified by plotting cognitive performance as a function of noise intensity. The plot would appear as an inverted U-curve, that is, a moderate noise is beneficial for performance whereas too low and too much noise attenuates performance. However, knowledge about the optimal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) needed for stochastic resonance to occur in the brain, particularly in the neural network of auditory working memory, is limited and demand further investigation. In the present study, we extended previous works on the impact of white noise on auditory working memory performance by including multiple background noise levels to map out the inverted U-curve for the stochastic resonance. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), twenty healthy young adults performed a word-based backward recall span task under four signal-to-noise ratio conditions: 15, 10, 5, and 0-dB SNR. Group results show significant behavioral improvement and increased activation in frontal cortices, primary auditory cortices, and anterior cingulate cortex in all noise conditions, except at 0-dB SNR, which decreases activation and performance. When plotted as a function of signal-to-noise ratio, behavioral and fMRI data exhibited a noise-benefit inverted U-shaped curve. Additionally, a significant positive correlation was found between the activity of the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and performance in 5-dB SNR. The predicted phenomenon of SR on auditory working memory performance is confirmed. Findings from this study suggest that the optimal signal-to-noise ratio to enhance auditory working memory performance is within 10 to 5-dB SNR and that the right SFG may be a strategic structure involved in enhancement of auditory working memory performance.

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Aim To evaluate the efficacy of a newly developed auditory–cognitive training system on speech recognition, central auditory processing and cognition among older adults with normal cognition (NC) and with neurocognitive impairment (NCI). Methods A double‐blind quasi‐experiment was carried out on NC (n = 43) and NCI (n = 33) groups. Participants in each group were randomly assigned into treatment and control programs groups. The treatment group underwent auditory–cognitive training, whereas the control group was assigned to watch documentary videos, three times per week, for 8 consecutive weeks. Study outcomes that included Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Malay Hearing in Noise Test, Dichotic Digit Test, Gaps in Noise Test and Pitch Pattern Sequence Test were measured at 4‐week intervals at baseline, and weeks 4, 8 and 12. Results Mixed design anova showed significant training effects in total Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Dichotic Digit Test in both groups, NC (P < 0.001) and NCI (P < 0.01). The NC group also showed significant training effects in the Malay Hearing in Noise Test (quiet) (P < 0.01), Gaps in Noise Test (P < 0.001) and Pitch Pattern Sequence Test (humming) (P < 0.05). All training effects were sustained up to 4 weeks after the training ended. Conclusions The present study suggests that the newly developed auditory–cognitive training system has the potential to improve general cognition and some of the auditory processing abilities in both the NC and NCI groups. Because of the short test–retest intervals used in the present study, it is possible that the training effects were influenced by learning effect and, therefore, should be considered cautiously. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 768–773.