Capturing hearts and minds: The influence of relational identification with the leader on followers' mobilization and cardiovascular reactivity

The influence of relational identification (RI) on leadership processes and the effects of social identity leadership on followers' responses to stress have received scant theoretical and research attention. The present research advances theoretical understanding by testing the assertion that high RI with the leader drives follower mobilization of effort and psychophysiological responses to stress. Two experimental scenario studies (Study 1 and Study 2) support the hypothesis that being led by an individual with whom followers perceive high RI increases follower intentional mobilization. Study 2 additionally showed that high (vs. low) RI increases follower resource appraisals and cognitive task performance. A laboratory experiment (Study 3) assessing cardiovascular (CV) reactivity showed that, compared to neutral (i.e., non-affiliated) leadership, being led by an individual with whom participants felt low RI elicited a maladaptive (i.e., threat) response to a pressurized task. In addition, relative to the low RI and neutral conditions, high RI with the leader did not engender greater challenge or threat reactivity. In conclusion, advancing social identity leadership and challenge and threat theory, findings suggest that leaders should be mindful of the deleterious effects (i.e., reduced mobilization and greater threat state) of low RI to optimize follower mobilization of effort and psychophysiological responses to stress.     

Resolving mobility constraints impeding rural seniors' access to regionalized services

Rural and small town places in developed economies are aging. While attention has been paid to the local transportation needs of rural seniors, fewer researchers have explored their regional transportation needs. This is important given policies that have reduced and regionalized many services and supports. This article explores mobility constraints impeding rural seniors' access to regionalized services using the example of northern British Columbia. Drawing upon several qualitative studies, we explore geographical, maintenance, organizational, communication, human resources, infrastructure, and financial constraints that affect seniors' regional mobility. Our findings indicate that greater coordination across multiple government agencies and jurisdictions is needed and more supportive policies and resources must be in place to facilitate a comprehensive regional transportation strategy. In addition to discussing the complexities of these geographies, the article identifies innovative solutions that have been deployed in northern British Columbia to support an aging population. This research provides a foundation for developing a comprehensive understanding of the key issues that need to be addressed to inform strategic investments in infrastructure and programs that support the regional mobility and, hence, healthy aging of rural seniors.     

Giving Victims of Bullying a Voice: A Qualitative Study of Post Bullying Reactions and Coping Strategies

Current research on how adolescents cope with bullying is primarily quantitative, examines youth in Grades 1 through 6, and neglects to specifically assess how victims of bullying cope with being bullied. The current qualitative study explored the coping strategies of 22 rural middle- and high-school youth victimized by bullying. Results indicated that youth report using an array of emotion focused coping strategies (an internal coping strategy that focuses on emotion regulation) and problem focused coping strategies (active behaviors that are aimed to decrease or eradicate the stressor). These coping strategies included help seeking, physical and verbal aggression, standing up for themselves, and prosocial bystander behavior. While the majority of coping strategies were similar between middle- and high-school participants, these groups reported utilizing verbal and physical aggression in different ways. Further, certain coping strategies, such as help seeking and lashing out with physical and verbal aggression, were utilized as both emotion- and problem-focused coping strategies. Implications are discussed.     

The practice of principles: an examination of CED groups in Vancouver, BC

The community economic development (CED) framework has its rootsat the margins of society but has gained a broader interest.This paper examines some key principles associated with theCED framework. Interviews with practitioners within three CEDorganizations in Vancouver resulted in themes that link CEDas a strategy for sustaining a broader vision of the organizations.CED ventures provide opportunities that enhance the connectionfor marginalized peoples to participate in local community organizations.Yet, there are challenges around delivering services withinan alternative framework operationalized within a market-basedparadigm. Nevertheless, CED initiatives can have far reachingimpacts beyond the individual and the organization. Indeed,CED is about networks of communities within communities.     

DNA COLLECTION IN A RANDOMIZED SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDY OF COLLEGE PEER EFFECTS

We describe the DNA collection processes of an initial pilot and full study, which is designed to investigate joint peer and genetic effects on health behaviors and attitudes in a college campus setting. In the main study, 2664 (79.5%) students completed a Web survey and 2080 (78.7% of the survey completers after adjusting for the ineligible) provided a saliva DNA sample. The response rate for completing both the survey and the DNA portion of the study is 62.5%. Our DNA yields are of high quality. Overall, our experiences and results demonstrate that genetic data can be successfully collected as a part of traditional social science survey research projects. To aid others in doing so, we provide extensive details of our data collection experiences and offer recommendations to future researchers seeking to do or evaluate similar work.     

Childhood family structure and young adult behaviors

This paper examines a wide variety of forms, and full histories, of family structure to test existing theories of family influences and identify needs for new theories. The focus is on links between childhood family structure and both completed schooling and risk of a nonmarital birth. Using a 27-year span of panel (PSID) data for U.S. children, we find that: (a) change is stressful, (b) timing during childhood is relevant, (c) adults other than parents are important, and (d) two more recently studied family structures (mother-with-grandparent(s) and mother-with-stepfather) do not fit the molds of existing theories. The findings suggest that new theories should consider allocation of resources and reasons people group into family structures. Received: 11 September 1998/Accepted: 27 March 2000     

Impact of the National Minimum Wage on Disabled People

The survey reported here found disparities in the impact of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage on disabled people. These were associated with age, gender, impairment and type of employment setting. The main determinant of whether individuals gained from the NMW was their status as claimants of welfare benefits. We also found evidence that paid hours had been reduced to implement the NMW with no net increase in earnings, possibly to enable people to retain benefits entitlements. We make recommendations about how the anomalies can be tackled. It may be unrealistic to expect the Act to have been implemented fully so soon after it became law and some of the anomalies found may eventually disappear. However, many of the inequalities uncovered by this survey are not addressed by the NMW, specifically those inequalities associated with impairment and gender.     

Measure for measure: evaluating performance and the arts organisation

This paper discusses the cultural policy and impacts of the application of performance indicators to subsidised arts organisations in Britain. The context of this study is the increased accountability and measurement of the outputs of arts organisations by government funding agencies, and the related drive for improved productivity and efficiency. In an extension of performance measurement regimes in ‘public good’ provision, and the arguments concerning economic importance of the cultural industries, the performing arts occupy an uncomfortable place as a pre-industrial activity being subjected to notions of economic efficiency. This discussion concerns the focus for analysis of the measurements used – the three-Es of economy, efficiency and effectiveness - and the rationale underlying their imposition. The outputs and performance indicators of the major subsidised arts organisations are then presented, based on a ten year time series, revealing declining audiences and production, but increasing ticket prices and expenditure, which arguably undermines the performing arts ‘merit good’ status.     

Distribution theory and inference for polynomial-normal densities

This paper considers a class of densities formed by taking the product of nonnegative polynomials and normal densities. These densities provide a rich class of distributions that can be used in modelling when faced with non-normal characteristics such as skewness and multimodality. In this paper we address inferential and computational issues arising in the practical implementation of this parametric family in the context of the linear model. Exact results are recorded for the conditional analysis of location-scale models and an importance sampling algorithm is developed for the implementation of a conditional analysis for the general linear model when using polynomial-normal distributions for the error.