Bad News Has Wings: Dread Risk Mediates Social Amplification in Risk Communication

Social diffusion of information amplifies risk through processes of birth, death, and distortion of message content. Dread risk—involving uncontrollable, fatal, involuntary, and catastrophic outcomes (e.g., terrorist attacks and nuclear accidents)—may be particularly susceptible to amplification because of the psychological biases inherent in dread risk avoidance. To test this, initially balanced information about high or low dread topics was given to a set of individuals who then communicated this information through diffusion chains, each person passing a message to the next. A subset of these chains were also reexposed to the original information. We measured prior knowledge, perceived risk before and after transmission, and, at each link, number of positive and negative statements. Results showed that the more a message was transmitted the more negative statements it contained. This was highest for the high dread topic. Increased perceived risk and production of negative messages was closely related to the amount of negative information that was received, with domain knowledge mitigating this effect. Reexposure to the initial information was ineffectual in reducing bias, demonstrating the enhanced danger of socially transmitted information.     

Leveraging psychological contracts as an HR strategy: The case of software developers

This article studies the management of software developers through the lens of the psychological contract and from the perspectives of employees and employers. Data were gathered through interviews with software developers and their human resources (HR) and/or direct managers in French high-tech companies. Our findings show the crucial role of HR and direct managers who shape a balanced professional psychological contract with developers as a specific HR strategy in order to respond to their job specificities and values. Specific HR practices (nature of the processes, involvement of developers in these processes, credibility of HR/direct managers and career development opportunities) and the working environment contribute to the development of trust and fairness, which form part of the content of the balanced contract.     

Eating Morality: Food and the Goodness of Care in Northern Aboriginal Australia

This article contributes to anthropological discussions about care, food and morality by considering the gastro-morality of Yolngu people living in Galiwin’ku in the 2000s. I develop the concept of ‘trans-material morality’ to capture the ways that food takes on material, emotive and ontological forms of morality. Food is central to articulating expressions of care, as well to experiencing feelings of being cared for and, inversely, feelings of not being cared for. This is done by way of the meanings of good and bad that are attached to the food itself and by way of eating and acts of sharing and not sharing. I argue that largely because of food’s capacity to exist as trans-material morality, it is a particularly compelling thing with which to moralise, both in the intimate interactions of day-to-day life and in the grander theorising that human beings undertake to paint a picture of moral change.     

Rising food security concerns among New Zealand adolescents and association with health and wellbeing

The current paper explores recent changes in food insecurity among adolescents and determine if food security concerns are associated with poorer wellbeing. Data were collected as part of two nationally representative surveys of the health and wellbeing of high-school students in New Zealand in 2007 and 2012. In 2012, 11% of young people reported food security concerns often or always, with 33% reporting food security concerns occasionally/sometimes. The prevalence of food security concerns at both frequencies increased significantly from 2007 (8% and 28%, respectively). Young people with food security concerns were more likely to report poor indicators of health and wellbeing, including truancy, poor general health, mental health concerns and obesity. Our findings highlight the growing concerns of food insecurity reported by adolescents in New Zealand. Interventions that address food security for families may provide a tangible means of promoting the healthy development of children and young people.     

基于SBM-Malmquist-Tobit模型的纺织业上市公司融资效率研究

纺织业是我国重要的经济支柱产业之一，在国民经济发展、促进社会安定与繁荣中起着重要的作用。融资活动会影响上市公司产、供、销各个环节，对于企业持续经营和长远发展起着战略指导作用。契合纺织业“十三五”规划、“一带一路”倡议及“中国制造2025”对纺织业上市公司持续经营和长远发展的更高要求，以我国纺织业上市公司为研究对象，选取2012—2016年的财务数据，通过构建SBM-Malmquist指数模型从静态及动态两个角度对融资效率进行测算，构建指标体系，提出五个假设，构建受限面板Tobit回归模型对影响融资效率的因素进行验证，得出针对提升纺织业上市公司融资效率的实证结论。     

How and why are Theory of Change and Realist Evaluation used in food security contexts? A scoping review

The complex ways in which food security actions lead to nutrition and other health outcomes make it important to clarify what programs work and how, with theory-driven evaluation emerging as a promising approach to evaluate complex programs. However, it is unclear how and why theory-driven evaluation is applied in food security contexts. Our objective is to examine the development and use of Theory of Change and Realist Evaluation to support food security programs globally. Using a systematic search and screening process, we included studies that described a food security program, used a Theory of Change or Realist Evaluation, and presented original research or evaluations. We found a total of 59 relevant Theory of Change studies and eight Realist Evaluation studies. Based on our analysis, Theories of Change arose in response to three main problems: 1) the need to evaluate under complexity; 2) challenges with evaluation; and, 3) information gaps surrounding a program. In contrast, Realist Evaluation was reported to be developed primarily to understand a program’s outcomes. Reflecting on the problem to be addressed in the evaluation would help improve understandings of the evaluation context, which would then inform the choice and design of an evaluation approach.     

关系型贷款、市场结构与小额贷款公司使命漂移

我国小额贷款公司发展极为迅速,但小微企业融资难问题依然严峻,小额贷款公司存在着显著的使命漂移.对于微型金融机构的使命漂移问题,大量的研究主要以财务可持续性为视角.本文结合关系型贷款理论和市场结构理论并构建理论模型,以一个新的视角分析我国小额贷款公司的使命漂移问题,证明了开展关系型贷款和提升小额贷款市场的竞争程度均有利于小额贷款公司发放更多的小额贷款,增加小微企业等融资主体的信贷可得性,从而避免使命漂移.进一步的,通过对一个代表性城市小额贷款公司的相关数据分析,认为小额贷款公司使命漂移的内在原因是关系型贷款技术运用不足和小额贷款市场竞争程度较低.     

The myth of price convergence under economic integration: A proposed explanation for the difference in food prices across European countries

Conventional globalization theory states that regional economic integration will precede price standardization across participating countries due to the increased buying power of large retail groups and parallel imports. The resulting price corridor should merely reflect differences in logistic costs and short-term, local competitive actions. Yet, this study uses panel data from 25 European countries to examine how hefty food and beverage price differentials between regions remained constant over the last decade. Income, store productivity, and market concentration all contribute to the explanation for regional price differences. These findings suggest that, contrary to straight-line globalization theory, large European retailers’ decisions can influence price convergence and maintain important price dispersion between economically integrated countries. We provide recommendations to enhance market integration.     

Exploring the roles of government involvement and institutional environments in the internationalization of Chinese Internet companies

The interactions between government, institutions, and Internet companies have gained attention in the research on the globalization of China’s Internet. However, few studies have been conducted at the company level, and the knowledge about the roles of government and institutions remains limited. Drawing on institutional theory, this empirical study explored the roles and mechanisms of government involvement and the institutional environment in the internationalization of Chinese Internet companies. The results indicated that government involvement could improve these companies’ degree of international breadth through both state ownership and governmental affiliation. However, the results showed that state ownership had a restraining function on their degree of international depth. In the context of institutional transition in China, these effects could vary according to whether Internet companies operate in good or poor institutional environments. By revealing these relationships, this study contributes to both the theoretical and the empirical understanding of governmental influence and institutional roots in the globalization of China’s Internet.