Acculturation and Prejudice in Germany: Majority and Minority Perspectives

This article explores the connections between prejudice and specific attitudes toward acculturation in Germany. Results of surveys confirm the hypothesis that prejudice is related to ideologies of assimilation and segregation among majority- group members. Moreover, experimental and correlational studies indicate that these attitudes are linked to discriminatory behavior. Further analyses of studies with ethnic minorities prove that prejudice and acculturation are linked within minority groups as well. Additionally it is shown that prejudice is functional in order for minorities to acculturate. These studies confirm the impression that there is a close link between macrosocial and microsocial levels of coping with migration.     

The Political Economy of Supranational Institutions: Two Recent Contrary Standpoints

Book reviewed in this article: Inge Kaul, Isabelle Grunberg and Marc A. Stern, Global Public Goods: International Cooperation in the 21^st Century Lloyd Gruber, Ruling the World: Power Politics and the Rise of Supranational Institutions     

Multivariate Calibration — Direct and Indirect Regression Methodology

This paper tries first to introduce and motivate the methodology of multivariate calibration. Next a review is given, mostly avoiding technicalities, of the somewhat messy theory of the subject. Two approaches are distinguished: the estimation approach (controlled calibration) and the prediction approach (natural calibration). Among problems discussed are the choice of estimator, the choice of confidence region, methodology for handling situations with more variables than observations, near-collinearities (with counter-measures like ridge type regression, principal components regression, partial least squares regression and continuum regression), pretreatment of data, and cross-validation vs true prediction. Examples discussed in detail concern estimation of the age of a rhinoceros from its horn lengths (low-dimensional), and nitrate prediction in waste-water from high-dimensional spectroscopic measurements.     

Serving in Developing Countries: A Mixed Methods Study of International Voluntary Service Performance

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Many volunteer organizations offer short-term international voluntary service (IVS) opportunities as an avenue for...     

Psychodynamik von Geld und Besitz in mittelständischen Familienunternehmen

The author discusses experiences during a research project dealing with family businesses. In those businesses the individual psychodynamic of family members is closely confounded with the dynamics of necessary role behavior. One of the most critical situations is the successful succession of generations. Those processes are often subverted by an unconscious destructiveness resulting from unresolved, often gendered interpersonal conflicts and multiple insults. To support family businesses saving their future consultants have to be sensible not only for economical profit but for emotional gratification too, creating an atmosphere which allows all participants speaking freely about their hopes and fears. The article presents social configurations which a consultant must comprehend well if he wants to give reliable orientations to their clients.     

Visual rhetorical literacy In a development communication setting

This article reports on a study conducted to clarify whether visual rhetorical codes may be regarded as a significant readability barrier in a development communication setting. The semantic and pragmatic comprehension of three rhetorically encoded posters with a Tuberculosis theme were measured in a study population consisting of 150 high‐literate and 150 non‐literate adult clinic patients in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The results suggest that rudimentary rhetorical codes meant for the semantic level of comprehension (e.g. repetition, opposition, exchange of visual elements) are appropriate for a non‐literate target group, whereas advanced rhetorical articulations intended for the pragmatic level of comprehension (e.g. complex visual rhetorical premises and arguments) should be restricted to high‐literate target groups. In other words, the lower the literacy level of the target group, the lower the level of the visual rhetoric that should be used to engage the viewer.     

An extension of Monte Carlo hypothesis tests

There are many hypothesis testing settings in which one can calculate a “reasonable” test statistic, but in which the null distribution of the statistic is unknown or completely intractable. Fortunately, in many such situations, it is possible to simulate values of the test statistic under the null hypothesis, in which case one can conduct a Monte Carlo test. A difficulty however arises in that Monte Carlo tests, as they are currently structured, are applicable only if ties cannot occur among the values of the test statistics. There is a frequently occurring scenario in which there are lots of ties, namely that in which the null distribution of the test statistic has a (single) point mass. It turns out that one can modify the current form of Monte Carlo tests so as to accommodate such settings. Developing this modification leads to an intriguing identity involving the binomial probability function and its derivatives. In this article, we will briefly explain the modified procedure, discuss simulation studies which demonstrate its efficacy, and provide a proof of the identity referred to above.     

Working Under a Black Cloud: How to Sustain Organizational Identification after a Merger*

This article argues against the merger folklore that maintains that a merger negatively affects well‐being and work attitudes primarily through the threat of job insecurity. We hold that the workplace is not only a resource for fulfilling a person's financial needs, but that it is an important component of the self‐concept in terms of identification with the organization, as explained by social identity theory. We unravel the key concepts of the social identity approach relevant to the analysis of mergers and review evidence from previous studies. Then, we present a study conducted during a merger to substantiate our ideas about the effects of post‐merger organizational identification above and beyond the effects of perceived job insecurity. We recommend that managers should account for these psychological effects through the provision of continuity and specific types of communication.