Strategic alliances in fast-moving markets

The pace of technological change and market shifts is forcing organizations to reconsider their strategies for creating sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic alliances focused on destabilizing market values are currently the most effective source of sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of this article is to explain how successful strategic alliances can be arranged in fast-moving markets.     

Malaria eradication and its effect on mortality levels: A comment

Abstract In his article 'Malaria eradication and its effect on mortality levels' (Population Studies d21, 3, November 1967) Dr. S. A. Meegama criticised the approach followed by Professor Peter Newman in an earlier investigation of the effects of malaria eradication in Ceylon. In the present series of comments and rejoinders, Professor Newman and Dr. Meegama discuss in detail their interpretations of the data and the methods they have used in assessing the role of malaria eradication.     

Empirically supported ethical research practice: the costs and benefits of research from the participants' view

Researchers and institutional review boards are routinely called upon to evaluate the cost-benefit status of proposed research protocols that involve human participants. Often these assessments are based on subjective judgments in the absence of empirical data. This reliance on subjective judgments is of particular concern for studies involving clinical samples where unfounded assumptions may adversely affect research progress or clinical outcomes. The Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire (RRPQ) was designed to address this shortcoming and to help promote ethical decision making about research practice. The present study describes development of the RRPQ and presents a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses investigating its structure. Based on these findings, a revised version of the instrument and suggestions for future research are presented. This approach provides a foundation for scientifically informed protection of human subjects.     

Revisiting the mediating role of trust in transformational leadership effects: Do different types of trust make a difference?

This study examines the mediating effects of cognitive and affective trust on the relationship between follower perceptions of transformational leadership behavior and their work outcomes. Using data obtained from 318 supervisor–subordinate dyads from a manufacturing organization located in mainland China, structural equation modeling results revealed that affective trust fully mediated the relationships between transformational leadership and the work outcomes of followers, including their affective organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and job performance. In contrast, cognitive trust negatively mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and follower job performance, and had insignificant effects on their affective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of affective trust as a mechanism which translates transformational leadership into positive work outcomes for the organization.     

Systems analysts and the politics of organizational control

The introduction of major information systems into organizations can be fraught with difficulties. The negative effects of such systems can, for many important organizational members, be too great a price to pay for the supposed benefits. The advent of computerised information systems has served not merely to deskill the clerical ‘craft’ but can also be used as a strategy by top management to reduce the management control gap. However, by undercutting the organizational ‘rules of the game’, information systems innovation can produce severe strains and stresses in the political system. The proposals in the literature to combat the effects of innovation are examined. A broader, political perspective is used to reveal some of the inadequacies of these proposals and supporting data, gathered from interviews in several Canadian organizations, are presented to illustrate this. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of this broader approach.     

Do Socioeconomic Differences in Family Size Reflect Cultural Differences in Confidence and Social Support for Parenting?

This article details family size differences by socio-economic area in metropolitan South Australia and suggests that these differences may be linked to cultural differences in parenting confidence and skills, and in social supports for parenting. The paper analyses Census data on average completed family size and family size distribution in six different areas. In all age groups this shows a negative correlation between family size and the socio-economic status of the area. Secondly, based on analysis of interview data with 38 mothers and 24 fathers and a small survey of 44 parents-to-be, the article suggests that the quantitative patterns may partly reflect differences in the proportions of people in each area who see being parents and having larger families as desirable and achievable undertakings for which they have the requisite personal skills and social supports to minimise adverse impacts on their own parental health and lifestyle. The article concludes by hypothesising that differential fertility levels between groups or areas partly reflect differences in levels of confidence, skills and social support for parenting, and that a cultural “crisis in parenthood” as well as a greater focus on intensive parenting may be more widespread in higher status groups which is reflected in their lower fertility.     

Learning Life Skills Through Challenging and Negative Experiences

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - Youth who are socially vulnerable are disproportionately confronted with culminating risk factors that impact their everyday lives. Within positive youth...     

Infant Preferences for Structural and Prosodic Properties of Infant‐Directed Speech in the Second Year of Life

While a large literature discusses young infants' preference for an infant‐directed speaking style, few studies have explored preferences after the first year. The present work compares infants' preference for two different properties of IDS speech: prosodic changes (primarily pitch and pitch variability) and structural properties (utterance length; lexical repetition). We found that both 12‐ and 16‐month‐old infants continued to prefer listening to speech with the prosodic properties of IDS, but neither age showed any preference for speech with the lexical repetition and short utterances typical of IDS.