Vagal modulation of 1‐month‐old infants to auditory stimuli is associated with self‐regulatory behavior

During infancy, cardiac vagal modulation has been associated with attentional and social engagement behaviors. While studies have shown that infants display a behavioral repertoire that enables them to interact with others by being able to regulate themselves in order to attend to and to discriminate emotional and social cues, vagal modulation to sensory stimuli and its association with behavioral outcomes at early ages remains to be addressed. In this study, we analyzed the cardiac vagal response of 1‐month‐old infants to two auditory stimuli intensities and whether vagal response was associated with social interactive and self‐regulatory abilities. Therefore, we recorded cardiac and respiratory physiological responses in 28 infants using a Biopac System. Neurobehavioral assessment was performed using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. We observed increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) amplitude to both auditory stimuli intensities when compared to baseline. No intensity effect was found for the RSA response. Additionally, we observed that higher RSA amplitude to both auditory stimuli was positively correlated with adjusted self‐regulatory behaviors, suggesting a convergence between multiple measures assessing infants' state regulation. Results are discussed in light of 1‐month‐old infants' auditory stimuli processing and its implications for regulatory behaviors and the emergent social‐like behaviors.     

Complementary person-supervisor fit: An investigation of supplies-values (S-V) fit,leader-member exchange (LMX) and work outcomes

By applying the supplies-values (S-V) fit approach from the complementary person-environment (P-E) fit literature to the leader-employee perspective, and drawing upon social exchange theory, we examine how fulfillment of different work values is related to Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and work outcomes. First, polynomial regression analyses combined with response surface analysis of data collected at two time points (N = 316) showed that LMX (Time 2) was higher the more the leader fulfills the employee's work values (Time 1). Second, LMX (Time 2) was higher when leader supplies (Time 1) and employee work values (Time 1) were both high than when both were low. Third, analyses of data from a sub-sample of matched leader-employee dyads (N = 140), showed that LMX (Time 2) played a mediating role on the relation between S-V fit (Time 1) and work outcomes (Time 2). Specifically, we found eight out of 10 relationships between S-V fit (Time 1) and leader-rated task performance and OCB (Time 2) to be fully mediated by LMX (Time 2). LMX (Time 2) partially mediated the relation between S-V fit (Time 1) and job satisfaction (Time 2) as only two out of five relationships were fully mediated.     

Majority size and conformity behavior in charitable giving: Field evidence from a donation-based crowdfunding platform in Japan

A charitable donor typically imitates the majority contribution of other donors. This study examines the relationships between majority size and this so-called donor’s conformity behavior, by empirically investigating the impacts of multiple earlier donations on the donation of a subsequent donor to JapanGiving, a donation-based crowdfunding platform in Japan. This analysis is possible because the platform’s webpage displays the previous donation amounts in chronological order, thus allowing us to examine the modal amount of more recent donations. By using data on 9989 actual donations, our dynamic panel analysis suggests that when the number of most recent continuous modal donations increases, the likelihood that a subsequent donor matches the modal amount increases. This result supports the notion that a donor’s conformity behavior is more likely to occur when a greater proportion of other donors give a similar amount. Furthermore, the effects of continuous modal donations are strongly observed for low monetary ranges. We interpret that initiating further cooperation among a large number of less cooperative other donors would become harder, or individuals would obtain an excuse for less cooperation due to the others’ behaviors. Finally, we discuss how our findings connect economic studies of charity and social psychology studies of conformity and could help improve the effectiveness of fundraising by charities.     

What makes hybrid insourcing successful: A new public–private partnership model for social welfare services

Outsourcing has been a key policy tool for delivering a range of social services, and regarded as more effective than insourcing or direct government provision. At the same time, it has also caused many delivery issues such as principal‐agent problems, a lack of policy coordination, and poor‐quality welfare services. While the pendulum continues to swing between insourcing and outsourcing, we aim to propose a new public–private partnership model called the “hybrid insourcing model” and examine which factors influence the performance of the model. In South Korea, around 2010, the local government in Namyangju City was the first to implement the “Hope Care Center model,” a kind of hybrid insourcing model, which has been praised for its innovation and widely emulated by central and local governments. Our analysis utilizes data collected between December 2017 and January 2018 from public sector employees and civilian staff in Namyangju and a comparable city, A. From this, we draw a number of implications, both for theory and for policy. We argue that, for public–private partnerships, active cooperation and equality are the biggest factors in contributing to positive performance. These work alongside leaders with a clear vision and with employees' positive attitude.     

Organizational identification as a mediator for the effects of psychological contract breaches on organizational citizenship behavior: Insights from the perspective of ethnic minority employees

This study examines the contribution of the psychological contract (PC) framework to the understanding of ethnic minority employees’ employment relationships. First, it tests the generalizability of PC types (transactional, relational, and balanced) observed in the general population to ethnic minority employees. Then, to further address the unique needs and motivators of minority employees, this study considers diversity-related PCs. It adopts social exchange theory to explain how transactional, relational, balanced, and diversity-related PC breaches predict organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Moreover, it draws insights from social identity theory and examines the mediating role of organizational identification in the relationship between types of PC breach and OCB. Data from 361 Turkish employees working as ethnic minorities in Belgium indicate that relational and diversity-related PC breaches predict OCB partially via organizational identification while transactional and balanced PC breaches directly affect OCB.     

5-6岁幼儿分享行为和分享动机研究

本研究以厦门市某幼儿园的40名5-6岁幼儿为被试，运用实验法和访谈法，探讨“偶得物品”和“拥有性物品”下幼儿分享行为及其分享动机的特点。结果如下：（1）百分之百的幼儿具有正确的分享判断，但绝大部分幼儿并不愿意分享，“偶得物品”和“拥有性物品”之间的分享行为并没有明显差异。（2）愿意分享的幼儿中，被动分享占主导，其中一大部分是伪分享行为。（3）分享动机中，“同伴倾向”占主导，尤其是“偶得物品”的分享动机；“权威/规则倾向”和“移情倾向”也占有重要地位。     

基于修正UTAUT模型的农信社手机银行使用行为研究——以福建省农户调查数据为例

基于UTAUT模型,引入感知风险、替代软件等2个变量进行修正,构建农信社手机银行使用行为影响因素研究模型,并运用结构方程模型、Bootstrap中介检验、多群组分析等方法对福建省农户调查数据进行实证分析。研究发现:(1)感知易用性显著正向影响农信社手机银行使用意愿;感知风险和替代软件显著负向影响农信社手机银行使用意愿;社会影响对农信社手机银行使用意愿影响不显著。(2)便利条件和使用意愿显著正向影响农信社手机银行使用行为;农信社手机银行使用行为影响因素由大到小依次为便利条件、替代软件、感知风险、感知易用性。(3)教育在感知易用性对农信社手机银行使用意愿影响中具有调节作用。据此提出,应进一步增强操作的便利性以优化业务办理效率,增强信息的安全性以降低软件使用风险,增强软件的特色性以降低软件可替代性,增强软件的易用性以优化便捷使用体验,从而优化农村金融服务供给,助推农村经济发展。     

Information and communication technology adoption in micro and small firms: Can internet access improve labour productivity?

The rapid spread of information and communication technologies (ICT) may increase firms’ productivity with important consequences for job creation and for economic growth. This article contributes to this discussion by analysing the impact of internet adoption on labour productivity and the mechanisms shaping this relationship in Peruvian micro and small manufacturing firms over the period 2011–2013. The article estimates a reduced form where labour productivity is a function of internet adoption and other explanatory factors. Internet adoption is instrumented using a measure of the availability of financial opportunities for micro and small firms in Peru. Findings indicate that internet adoption: (a) increases firms’ labour productivity; (b) reallocates employment away from temporary administrative workers and non‐remunerated workers and expands employment of permanent production workers; (c) leads to the formalization of labour relationships, to the implementation of new organizational practices and to the improvement of training measures. While changes in employment and formalization of workers are linked to labour productivity gains, increases in training measures and organizational changes do not generate any additional productivity increase. Policies oriented to promote the adoption of ICT in micro and small firms can be beneficial to close the productivity gap with larger firms in Peru. Moreover, policies directed to the formalization of the workforce can provide an extra benefit, i.e. additional labour productivity gains in firms adopting the internet. Finally, policies oriented to the development of digital skills are also important to ease the re‐employment of those workers losing their jobs and the achievement of additional productivity gains that new organizational practices can provide.     

我国幼儿食育必要性及其促进策略

食育是饮食行为教育，是对孩子进行包括饮食观念、膳食营养知识和饮食卫生安全等一系列营养学的教育。食育的开展是一项利国利民，值得大力推广的事情。食育应当成为全民的教育，且越早开始越好。目前我国食育还处于萌芽阶段，幼儿食育的推进更是任重而道远，需要幼儿园、家庭、政府、社区乃至全社会的共同参与。