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Jelena Brcic

Jelena Brcic, PhD

Assistant Professor - On Leave, Sabbatical

School of Business

Abbotsford campus, C2406

Phone: 604-504-7441 ext. 4733

email Jelena

Jelena is a faculty member in the UFV School of Business who continues to produce and undertake world-class scholarly research. Over the last two years, she has published five peer-reviewed research articles (with one under review) and has given numerous conference presentations in Canada, the United States, Germany, and Australia. This is in addition to continuing her work with the Canadian Space Agency (awarded a $200,000 grant) to research Teams in Extreme Environment — Exploring Autonomy, Motivation, and Stress, something she did along with two of her students, travelling to a weather station (one of the last standing ones) in the Arctic to conduct the research.

Biography

Dr. Jelena Brcic obtained her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of British Columbia and completed her postdoctoral work at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Her PhD dissertation examined how small, skilled, mission-oriented teams cope with working and living in extreme and unusual environments such as the International Space Station, field of combat, or tops of the world's highest mountains. Her primary research interests include group cohesion in extreme workplaces, as well as, the benefits of goal setting and autonomy to aid performance in those workplaces.

Dr. Brcic has also done work on subconscious priming and is interested in exploring the boundary conditions and theoretical explanations of how, if, and when priming influences behavior, more specifically consumer satisfaction and team performance. 

Dr. Brcic teaches courses in Organizational Studies and Human Resources.

Teaching Interests

Courses recently taught at UFV:

Presentations

Brcic, J., Suedfeld, P., & Johnson, P. J. (2020, April). Teams in extreme environments: Exploring autonomy, motivation, and stress (TE3AMS) – Initial team resilience and cohesion results. Symposium conducted at the 35th Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Austin, TX.

Brcic, J., Suedfeld, P., & Johnson, P. J. (2019, October). Teams in extreme environments: Exploring autonomy, motivation, and stress (TEAMS) – Study motivation and initial results. Paper presented at the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Washington, DC.

Smith, N., Sandal, G. M., Suedfeld, P., Johnson, P. J., Brcic, J., & Barrett, E. C. (2019, October). A systematic review of personal values research in isolated, confined and extreme environments. Symposium conducted at the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Washington, DC.

Suedfeld, P., Johnson, P. J., & Brcic, J. (2019, October). Are findings in ICE Psychology generalizable and replicable? The example of coping strategy. Paper presented at the 70th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Washington, D.C.

Brcic, J., & Rawn, C. D. (2019, February). Promoting Social Connections and Student Learning using Two-Stage Exams in Classes of Any Size. Poster presented at the Teaching Pre-Conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference, Portland, OR.

Brcic, J., Suedfeld, P., & Johnson, P. J. (2018, October). One for all and all for one: Crew coping at the International Space Station. Paper presented at the 69th International Astronautical Congress, Bremen, Germany.

Ahmandian, S., Brcic, J., Della-Rosa, I., Johnson, P. J., & Suedfeld, P. (2018). What do astronauts Tweet about? Linguistic analysis. Paper presented at the 69th International Astronautical Congress, Bremen, Germany.

Brcic, J., Suedfeld, P., Johnson, P. J., Huynh, T., & Gushin, V. (2017). Humour as a coping strategy in spaceflight. Paper presented at the 68th International Astronautical Congress, Adelaide, Australia.

Suedfeld, P., Johnson, P. J., Brcic, J., & Gushin, V. (2017). Motivational profile of retired cosmonauts. Paper presented at the 68th International Astronautical Congress, Adelaide, Australia.

Brcic, J. (2016). Coping and motive imagery of highly skilled groups. Poster presented at the 77th Canadian Psychological Association Annual Convention, Victoria, BC.

Publications

Latham, G., Hu, J., & Brcic, J. (2019). The effect of a context-specific primed goal on goal commitment and team performance. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 69(3), 805-833. doi:10.1111/apps.12207.

Brcic, J., Suedfeld, P., Johnson, P. J., Huynh, T., & Gushin, V. (2018). Humor as a coping strategy in spaceflight. Acta Astronautica, 152, 175-178. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.07.039.

Suedfeld, P., Johnson, P. J., Gushin, V., & Brcic, J. (2018). Motivational profile of retired cosmonauts. Acta Astronautica, 146, 202-205. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.02.038.

Latham, G. P., Brcic, J., & Steinhauer, A. (2017). Toward an integration of goal setting theory and the automaticity model. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 66(1), 25-48. doi:10.1111/apps.12087.

McNeil, R. R., & Brcic, J. (2017). Coping with the subterranean environment: A thematic content analysis of the narratives of cave explorers. Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments, 13(1), 2-10. doi:10.7771/2327-2937.1089.

Brcic, J., & Latham, G. (2016). The effect of priming affect on customer service satisfaction. Academy of Management Discoveries, 2(4), 392-403. doi:10.5465/amd.2015.0052.

Latham, G. P., & Brcic, J. (2016). Motivation. In A. Wilkinson & S. Johnstone (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management (pp. 284-285). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Suedfeld, P., Brcic, J., Johnson, P. J., & Gushin, V. (2015). Coping strategies during and after spaceflight: Data from retired cosmonauts. Acta Astronautica, 110, 43-49. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2014.12.011.

Trehub, S. E., Plantinga, J., Brcic, J., & Nowicki, M. (2013). Cross-modal signatures in maternal speech and singing. Frontiers in Psychology, 4(811), 1-9. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00811.

Brcic, J., & Della-Rossa, I. (2012). Universal values of Canadian astronauts. Acta Astronautica, 80, 46-51. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.05.014.

Suedfeld, P., Brcic, J., Johnson, P. J., & Gushin, V. (2012). Personal growth following long-duration spaceflight. Acta Astronautica, 79, 118-123. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.04.039.

Suedfeld, P., & Brcic, J. (2011a). Resolution of psychosocial crises associated with flying in space. Acta Astronautica, 69, 24-29. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.02.011.

Suedfeld, P., & Brcic, J. (2011b). Scoring universal values in the study of terrorist groups and leaders. Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, 4(2), 166-174. doi:10.1080/17467586.2011.627939.

Suedfeld, P., Cross, R. W., & Brcic, J. (2011). Two years of ups and downs: Barack Obama's patterns of integrative complexity, motive imagery, and values. Political Psychology, 32(6), 1007-1033. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2011.00850.x.

Brcic, J. (2010). Motivational profile of astronauts at the International Space Station. Acta Astronautica, 67(9-10), 1110-1115. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2010.06.044.

Suedfeld, P., Legkaia, K., & Brcic, J. (2010). Changes in the hierarchy of value references associated with flying in space. Journal of Personality, 78(5), 1411-1435. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00656.x.

Suedfeld, P., Brcic, J., & Legkaia, K. (2009). Coping with the problems of space flight: Reports from astronauts and cosmonauts. Acta Astronautica, 65, 312-324. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.02.009.

Trehub, S. E., Plantinga, J., & Brcic, J. (2009). Infants detect cross-modal cues to identity in speech and singing. The Neuroscience and Music III: Disorders and Plasticity: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1169, 508-511. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04851.x.

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Accounting Alumni

I have a great appreciation for the professor who pushed me to get my CA designation. Isn’t it crazy how a little conversation can change your life so completely. Keith’s guidance alone has given me a lifetime of happiness and wealth. If I had gone to a larger university who knows if something like that would have ever happened. I am very proud of the route I took, but I wouldn’t have gotten there without my professors at UFV.

  • – Alex McAulay
  •    BBA Accounting, 2008

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