Threat, Group Identification, and Children's Ethnic Prejudice

This experiment tested predictions from social identity development theory (SIDT, Nesdale, 1999 ), that children's tendency to show out‐group prejudice depends on the strength of their in‐group identification and/or their perception of threat from the out‐group. Anglo‐Australian children (N= 480) aged 6, 7, or 9 years were assigned to a high‐status team and their identification with the in‐group (high vs. low) was manipulated together with threat from the out‐group (present vs. absent). The members of the out‐group were revealed to be of the same (Anglo‐Australian) or different (Pacific Islander) ethnicity to the in‐group. Results supported the SIDT predictions. In addition, consistent with socio‐cognitive theory (ST, Aboud, 1988 ), dislike for the out‐group at 6 years gave way to increasingly neutral reactions by 9 years of age. Ethnic composition of the out‐group did not impact differentially on liking but it did affect the children's desire to change groups. Strongly identified children were reluctant to leave their group regardless of the ethnicity of the out‐group, whereas children with low in‐group identification were more willing to change into a same‐ than into a different‐ethnicity out‐group. It is concluded that both social identity and social cognitive processes are implicated in the development of prejudice in middle childhood.     

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富有远见的领导者、所有拿来主义者都知道这个秘密：向精英中的精英学习,能加快宏大愿景的实现。这些领导者的头脑对新思维始终是敞开的,并不断挑战自己既有的观念与察省自身的表现。     

Market-Based Credit Ratings

We present a methodology for rating in real-time the creditworthiness of public companies in the U.S. from the prices of traded assets. Our approach uses asset pricing data to impute a term structure of risk neutral survival functions or default probabilities. Firms are then clustered into ratings categories based on their survival functions using a functional clustering algorithm. This allows all public firms whose assets are traded to be directly rated by market participants. For firms whose assets are not traded, we show how they can be indirectly rated by matching them to firms that are traded based on observable characteristics. We also show how the resulting ratings can be used to construct loss distributions for portfolios of bonds. Finally, we compare our ratings to Standard & Poors and find that, over the period 2005 to 2011, our ratings lead theirs for firms that ultimately default.     

Towards an integrated model of leadership and self regulation

Most organizations strive to recruit employees who can accommodate unpredictable changes, demonstrate adaptability, and interact effectively with a diversity of individuals. Nevertheless, recent advances in self regulation imply that leaders can instead cultivate such qualities in employees rather than merely attract individuals with these capacities. This paper delineates some of the leadership characteristics and behaviors that could diminish the fragility of employees to foster these qualities. First, a framework is developed that integrates four theories of self regulation—self discrepancy theory, personality systems interaction theory, optimal self esteem, and self salience. Second, this framework is applied to demonstrate how fragility undermines adaptive performance. Finally, this framework is used to show how many leadership constructs, such as self sacrificing, moral management, and transformational behavior, can curb this fragility and thus improve adaptive performance.     

Questions of process in participant-generated visual methodologies

There is an increasing literature on visual methodologies in which images are generated by participants as part of the research, as distinct from the analysis of existing images or images taken by the researcher. Although there are growing numbers of publications that present frameworks for analysing images and their meaning, this is an area requiring further deliberation and consolidation. Our contribution is to give serious attention to the processes of image production in participant-generated visual methodologies. We examine methodological and ethical considerations that arise before, during and after image production. Our work is in health research and we focus specifically on two methods: first, a combination of photovoice and photo-elicitation, in particular with young people; and second, drawings as research method. Based on examples using these two methods, we pose questions of process for image production and submit this for interrogation for reasons of methodological, analytical and ethical rigour.     

Sexually transmitted infections in the older woman

Dependent upon sexual behaviour peri- and postmenopausal women are increasingly at risk of sexually transmitted infections, although the overall rates remain low when compared with younger people. Symptoms are often non-specific or absent and may be misinterpreted as being due to the menopause. In addition, both the women and their clinicians may not be aware of their infection risk, thus leading to a delayed or missed diagnosis. Risk assessment and referral for screening of infections should be carried out wherever appropriate.