Anger and Approach Motivation in Infancy: Relations to Early Childhood Inhibitory Control and Behavior Problems

The relations among infant anger reactivity, approach behavior, and frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry, and their relations to inhibitory control and behavior problems in early childhood were examined within the context of a longitudinal study of temperament. Two hundred nine infants’ anger expressions to arm restraint were observed at 4 months of age. Infants’ approach behaviors during play with an unpredictable toy and baseline frontal EEG asymmetry were assessed at 9 months of age. Inhibitory control during a Go/No‐Go task and parent report of behavior problems were evaluated at 4 years of age. High anger‐prone infants with left, but not right, frontal EEG asymmetry showed significantly more approach behaviors and less inhibitory control relative to less anger‐prone infants. Although a link between anger proneness in infancy and behavior problems in early childhood was not found, a combination of low approach behaviors and poor inhibitory control was predictive of internalizing behaviors.     

Which countries protect intellectual property? The case of software piracy

Using data on software piracy, we examine how protection of intellectual property varies across countries. Consistent with other studies, we find that intellectual property receives greater protection in developed economies; high-income countries have lower piracy rates. We also find that protection depends on cultural factors. Countries with an individualist culture have lower piracy rates than do countries with a collectivist culture. Piracy rates are also lower in countries that have strong institutions that enforce contracts and protect property from expropriation. These results suggest that national policies toward intellectual property reflect not only economic concerns but also national culture and institutions.     

The Role of Maternal Behavior in the Relation between Shyness and Social Reticence in Early Childhood and Social Withdrawal in Middle Childhood

The moderating effect of maternal behavior in the relations between social reticence and shyness in preschool and subsequent social withdrawal was investigated. Eighty children (47 females) were judged for degree of social reticence during play with unfamiliar peers at the age of four and mothers completed the Colorado child temperament inventory (CCTI). At the age of seven, the children were coded for degree of social withdrawal during peer play and mothers and children were observed during structured and unstructured activities. Two significant interaction effects indicated that maternal report of shyness was a positive predictor of age‐seven social withdrawal when mothers lacked positivity; whereas observed social reticence was associated with higher degrees of social withdrawal when mothers were highly negative. Maternal positivity and negativity differentially influenced the development of social withdrawal in childhood, such that maternal negativity is associated with poor social functioning in children who have an established history of social withdrawal; whereas maternal positivity is associated with better social outcome for preschoolers who are viewed as temperamentally shy.     

NGOS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN BULGARIA AND THE USA

This study examines the development of civil society and its ability to facilitate stronger democratic practices in Bulgaria using the USA as a comparison. Using data gathered from surveys of NGOs in 2006, we examine three sets of questions. First, what is the level of NGO organizational capacity? Second, to what degree are NGOs performing their mediating roles? Third, how do NGOs perceive their effectiveness in working with the state and its citizens. Our findings suggest that Bulgarian NGOs face a number of challenges when compared with US NGOs, which affect their ability to engage in civil society activities such as establishing horizontal ties with citizens and other groups.     

Campus politics,student societies and social media

The university campus has often been seen as an important site for the politicization of young people. Recent explanations for this have focused attention upon the role of the student union as a means to enable a ‘critical mass’ of previously isolated individuals to produce social networks of common interest. What is missing from these accounts, however, and what this article seeks to address, is how these factors actually facilitate the development of political norms and the active engagement of many students. Drawing upon qualitative data from three countries we argue that it is the milieu of the smaller student societies that are crucial for facilitating the habitus of the student citizen. They provide the space for creative development and performance of the political self, affiliations to particular fields and access to cultural and social capital. Moreover, we contend that these processes of politicization are increasingly enacted through social media networks that foreground their importance for developing political habitus in the future.     

Determinants of residential Firewise behaviors in Central Oregon

As a result of climate change and past management practices, wildfires are becoming larger and occurring more frequently than ever before in the Western U.S. In order to mitigate the effects of this growing threat, fire management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service have encouraged residents in at-risk communities to protect their homes, property and communities by adopting Firewise recommendations. Using annual random sample household surveys conducted in fire-prone central Oregon from 2011 to 2013, this study examines the impact of wildfire events (i.e., wildfire exposure and evacuation), risk perception, wildfire plan informedness, proximity to wildlands, and various demographic factors on resident Firewise behavior participation. Findings indicate that residents who have experienced a wildfire event, who are familiar with their county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, who perceive wildfire risk to their community, and who live in proximity or within a wildland area, were significantly more likely to engage in Firewise behaviors than those residents without these experiences, orientations or household locations.     

“I’ve Always Wanted a Gay Family Member!”: Straight Ally Girls and Gender Inequality in a High School Gay-Straight Alliance

Research on high school Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) focuses on these clubs as safe spaces for students of all sexual and gender orientations to gather, arguing that GSAs are usually associated with less hostile school climates. Less studied are the interactions among students in GSAs and the ways gender and sexuality intersect in this context. This ethnographic study bridges this gap, examining inequality along lines of gender and sexual identity. Findings show that straight girls are given a voice in the GSA, applauded for their support, and immune from critique of their ally work, however, some lesbian, bisexual, and queer-identifying (LBQ) girls are disenchanted with straight girls’ participation. Some LBQ girls remain silent critics of their high school’s GSA, or abandon it completely. This research suggests that within GSAs, the unconditional inclusion of straight allies may be reproducing the very inequalities such groups exist to dismantle.