Balancing uniqueness and similarity: A content analysis of textual characteristics in Dutch corporate stories

Writing corporate stories to articulate identity is challenging because one must balance between the recognizable similarities with other companies (e.g., core activities, type of industry) and the company's own uniqueness. In the present study, we propose a conceptualization of corporate stories in terms of similarity and uniqueness, and present a scheme of six main categories of textual characteristics: general, style, structure, content, genre, and layout. The scheme is illustrated in a content analysis of 45 Dutch consumer-focused corporate stories. The results indicate that, contrary to the literature and guidelines on corporate stories, similarities in textual characteristics with other corporate stories are as typical for a corporate story as its uniqueness. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Frailty models and copulas: similarities and differences

Copulas and frailty models are important tools to model bivariate survival data. Equivalence between Archimedean copula models and shared frailty models, e.g. between the Clayton-Oakes copula model and the shared gamma frailty model, has often been claimed in the literature. In this note we show that, in both the models, there is indeed a well-known equivalence between the copula functions; the modeling of the marginal survival functions, however, is quite different. The latter fact leads to different joint survival functions.     

Spartacus at the Foot of the Alps: A Metaphor for the Fear of Growth

An incident from the Spartacus War (73–71 B.C.) is used as a metaphor to explore barriers to change and fear of growth in the relationship of a woman dying of cancer and her daughter. Paradox in family relationships and the use of metaphors in family therapy are explored, as are fear of the unknown, habitual transactional patterns, embedded personal narratives, and the impact of one's support network on positive change. When mother and daughter retreat behind walls created by psychological and emotional defenses, thoughts are offered on ways to overcome these barriers.     

The sexual inhibition (SIS) and sexual excitation (SES) scales: I. Measuring sexual inhibition and excitation proneness in men

This study involves the development and initial validation of a questionnaire measuring the propensity for sexual inhibition and excitation in men: the Sexual Inhibition & Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES). The underlying theoretical model postulates that sexual response and associated behavior depend on dual control mechanisms, involving excitatory and inhibitory neurophysiological systems. The scales and their discriminant and convergent validity and test‐retest reliability are described. In a sample of 408 sexually functional men (mean age = 22.8 years), factor analyses identified three higher‐level factors: two related to sexual inhibition and one to sexual excitation. Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analyses revealed that the factor structure provided an acceptable fit to the data obtained in a second (N = 459; mean age = 20.9 years) and third (N = 313; mean age = 46.2 years) sample of men, with similar distributions and relationships with other measures. Theoretical issues and areas for further research, including male sexual dysfunction and risk taking, are discussed.     

Women's Scores on the Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES): Gender Similarities and Differences

Theory and research agree that connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is an important construct to account for in understanding issues related to health and well-being among gay and bisexual men. However, the measurement of this construct among lesbian and bisexual women or racial and ethnic minority individuals has not yet been adequately investigated. This study examined the reliability and validity of an existing measure of connectedness to the LGBT Community among a diverse group of sexual minority individuals in New York City, and whether differences in connectedness existed across gender and race or ethnicity. Scores on the measure demonstrated both internal consistency and construct stability across subgroups defined by gender and race or ethnicity. The subgroups did not differ in their mean levels of connectedness, and scores on the measure demonstrated factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity, both generally and within each of the subgroups. Inconsistencies were observed with regard to which scores on the measure demonstrated predictive validity in their associations with indicators of mental health and well-being. The scale is a useful tool for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the role of community connectedness in the lives of diverse populations of sexual minority individuals.     

AbSRiM: An Agent‐Based Security Risk Management Approach for Airport Operations

Security risk management is essential for ensuring effective airport operations. This article introduces AbSRiM, a novel agent‐based modeling and simulation approach to perform security risk management for airport operations that uses formal sociotechnical models that include temporal and spatial aspects. The approach contains four main steps: scope selection, agent‐based model definition, risk assessment, and risk mitigation. The approach is based on traditional security risk management methodologies, but uses agent‐based modeling and Monte Carlo simulation at its core. Agent‐based modeling is used to model threat scenarios, and Monte Carlo simulations are then performed with this model to estimate security risks. The use of the AbSRiM approach is demonstrated with an illustrative case study. This case study includes a threat scenario in which an adversary attacks an airport terminal with an improvised explosive device. The approach provides a promising way to include important elements, such as human aspects and spatiotemporal aspects, in the assessment of risk. More research is still needed to better identify the strengths and weaknesses of the AbSRiM approach in different case studies, but results demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and its potential.     

The barrier effect of conflict with superiors in the relationship between employee empowerment and organizational commitment

The author proposes the idea that conflict with superiors has a barrier effect in the positive relationship between employee empowerment and organizational commitment. Superiors with higher authority rankings set and pursue organizational goals and values to which employees with lower authority rankings are expected to become committed. Conflicts with those superiors may hinder empowered employees to develop or maintain high levels of organizational commitment. A questionnaire survey among 91 secondary school teachers in The Netherlands provides empirical support for this suggestion. The moderator effect of conflict with superiors that was proposed and found in this study suggests that psychological empowerment in the workplace interacts with other employee experiences in its effects on an employee's commitment to the organization.     

Women's scores on the sexual inhibition/sexual excitation scales (SIS/SES): gender similarities and differences

The Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES) assess individual propensities to become sexually aroused and to inhibit arousal. Prior analyses of men's SIS/SES data (Janssen, Vorst, Finn, & Bancroft, 2002a) yielded one excitation factor (SES) and two inhibitory factors (SIS1/Threat of Performance Failure and SIS2/Threat of Performance Consequences). The current study utilized a dataset of 2,045 undergraduates (1,067 women and 978 men) to examine the psychometric properties of women's SIS/SES scores. Women scored higher on sexual inhibition and lower on sexual excitation compared with men. The convergent/discriminant validity of women's SIS/SES scores globally resembled men's, but showed stronger associations with other sexuality - related measures and less pronounced relationships with measures of general behavioral approach/avoidance. The test-retest reliability of men's and women's SIS/SES scores were similar, but individual items exhibited differential relevance to men's and women's arousal. An exploratory factor analysis of women's scores was utilized to further examine shared and unshared themes.     

A Novel Time Series Approach to Bridge Coding Changes with a Consistent Solution Across Causes of Death

Revisions of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) can lead to biases in cause-specific mortality levels and trends. We propose a novel time series approach to bridge ICD coding changes which provides a consistent solution across causes of death. Using a state space model with interventions, we performed time series analysis to cause-proportional mortality for ICD9 and ICD10 in the Netherlands (1979–2010), Canada (1979–2007) and Italy (1990–2007) on chapter level. A constraint was used to keep the sum of cause-specific interventions zero. Comparability ratios (CRs) were estimated and compared to existing bridge coding CRs for Italy and Canada. A significant ICD9 to ICD10 transition occurred among 13 cause of death groups in Italy, 7 in Canada and 3 in the Netherlands. Without the constraint, all-cause mortality after the classification change would be overestimated by 0.4 % (NL), 0.03 % (Canada) and 0.2 % (Italy). The time series CRs were in the same direction as the bridge coding CRs but deviated more from 1. A smooth corrected trend over the ICD-transition resulted from applying the time series approach. Comparing the time series CRs for Italy (2003), Canada (1999) and the Netherlands (1995) revealed interesting commonalities and differences. We demonstrated the importance of adding the constraint, the validity of our methodology and its advantages above earlier methods. Applying the method to more specific causes of death and integrating medical content to a larger extent is advocated.