Multiculturalism and welfare state integration: Swedish model path dependency

The present article offers an account of Swedish integration policies in the post-war period. The theoretical purpose is to assess Christian Joppke’s hypothesis that recent trends of integration policy convergence have rendered the national model approach analytically useless. The analysis shows that Sweden deviates, in some important respects, from the European trend by not formulating demands that link integration achievements to immigrants’ access to fundamental rights. The conclusion is that the Swedish case does not support Joppke’s hypothesis, but rather indicates that path dependency of national models is a valid explanation to ongoing developments. It is argued that the Swedish exception should be understood as an expression of the persistent impact of a policy logic according to which integration requires that all citizens have equal and universal access to certain fundamental rights. The article builds on general comparisons with European policy developments and uses Denmark as a more specific reference point.     

Firm size and board diversity

This study seeks to understand the relation between firm size and supervisory board composition. Specifically, we ask if and how firm size influences occupational and international background diversity in supervisory boards. Relying on resource dependence theory and theories of organizational behavior, we hypothesize that board diversity with respect to directors’ occupational background will increase with firm size, while the relation between firm size and board diversity with respect to directors’ international background will be concave. Using archival data for supervisory board members of 151 German firms listed in the German stock exchange indices DAX, MDAX, SDAX and TecDAX for the business year 2005, we find empirical support for our hypotheses: Both, occupational and international background diversity increase with increasing firm size, but international background diversity does so at decreasing rates.     

Nonlinear structural equation modeling: is partial least squares an alternative?

Nonlinear structural equation modeling provides many advantages over analyses based on manifest variables only. Several approaches for the analysis of latent interaction effects have been developed within the last 15 years, including the partial least squares product indicator approach (PLS-PI), the constrained product indicator approach using the LISREL software (LISREL-PI), and the distribution-analytic latent moderated structural equations approach (LMS) using the Mplus program. An assumed advantage of PLS-PI is that it is able to deal with very large numbers of indicators, while LISREL-PI and LMS have not been investigated under such conditions. In a Monte Carlo study, the performance of LISREL-PI and LMS was compared to PLS-PI results previously reported in Chin et al. (2003) and Goodhue et al. (2007) for identical conditions. The latent interaction model included six indicator variables for the measurement of each latent predictor variable and the latent criterion, and sample size was N=100. The results showed that PLS-PI’s linear and interaction parameter estimates were downward biased, while parameter estimates were unbiased for LISREL-PI and LMS. True standard errors were smallest for PLS-PI, while the power to detect the latent interaction effect was higher for LISREL-PI and LMS. Compared to the symmetric distributions of interaction parameter estimates for LISREL-PI and LMS, PLS-PI showed a distribution that was symmetric for positive values, but included outlying negative estimates. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.     

The Synthetic Situation: Interactionism for a Global World

Presented as the Distinguished Lecture at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 1, 2008, this article rethinks central assumptions of the interaction order as conceptualized by Goffman and others with respect to global domains of activity. 1 It proposes two new concepts, that of the synthetic situation and that of time transactions. Synthetic situations are situations that include electronically transmitted on‐screen projections that add informational depth and new response requirements to the “ecological huddle” ( Goffman 1964 :135) of the natural situation. Global situations invariably include such components; we also find that temporal forms of integration may substitute for joint territoriality of copresence in the natural situation. Based on research on global currency trading and other empirical examples, I identify four types of synthetic situations and describe the synthetic situation's informational character, its ontological fluidity, and the phenomenon that synthetic situations may become role‐others for participants. I outline the response system of synthetic situations, sketching out the concepts of response presence and its implications in this context as well as the importance of embodiment. I also discuss time transactions and the idea of fatefulness as a symbolic charge linked to the synthetic components of the situation.     

A Couple-Based Approach to the Reduction of PTSD Avoidance Symptoms: Preliminary Findings

This study reports preliminary findings regarding the feasibility and efficacy of a novel couple-based treatment, named Strategic Approach Therapy (SAT), for reducing avoidance symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Six male Vietnam combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD and their cohabitating marital partners participated in 10 weeks of SAT treatment. Self-report, clinician ratings, and partner ratings of PTSD symptoms were obtained before the first session and after the tenth session of treatment. Veterans reported statistically significant reductions in self-reported, clinician-rated, and partner-rated effortful avoidance, emotional numbing, and overall PTSD severity. These data indicate that SAT offers promise as an effective treatment for PTSD avoidance symptoms.     

Leg-extension strength and chair-rise performance in elderly women with Parkinson's disease

The lower extremity performance in elderly female patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease (PD; n = 12) and controls (n = 16) was compared. Isometric dynamometry and force-plate measurements were used. PD patients had lower (p < .05) bilateral (BL) maximal isometric leg-extension force (MF), BL isometric MF relative to body mass, and maximal rate of isometric force development than control participants. BL strength deficit was greater (p < .05) in PD patients than in controls. A significantly longer chair-rise time and lower maximal rate of vertical-ground-reaction-force development while rising from a chair was found in PD patients than in controls. These findings suggest that elderly women with PD have lowered voluntary isometric force-generation capacity of the leg-extensor muscles. Reduced BL leg-extension strength might contribute to the difficulty of individuals with PD to rise from a chair.     

基于细胞的生物传感器:用石英晶体微天平方法研究膜蛋白相互作用

在药物开发早期选择最优的候选目标物对于避免后期药物研发失败是至关重要的。Attana200细胞生物传感器能检测目标物在生物基质条件下的无标、全实时动力学情况,提供一个信息丰富的生物学相关的测量方法。细胞能在传感器表面生长,和传统传感器一样通过连续流引入相互作用的生物分子。该仪器还兼容标准生物传感器表面,而且可用于比较键合的纯化目标和相互作用的细胞。     

Attachment and leader's development via experiences

Apart from biographies and memoirs of outstanding leaders, studies on the development of leaders in everyday life from childhood to maturity are rare. We propose a developmental model of leaders in which certain variables formed in early childhood are the basic components for leadership development in later life. These are a low level of trait anxiety [Spielberger, C.D. (1972). Conceptual and methodological issues in anxiety research. In C.D. Spielberger (Ed.), Anxiety: Current trends in theory and research. New York: Academic Press, vol. 1] and openness to experiences [Costa, P.T. Jr., & McCrae, R.R. (1992a). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources]. We argue that secure attachment style [Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books] explains the formation and influence of these basic components, which in turn affect the leader's development through experience in leadership roles. Questionnaires were administered to 286 subjects. The data obtained were analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM).The findings show that trait anxiety and openness to experience affect leaders' development via experiences. Alternative models in which formative variables may affect the magnitude and intensity of leadership experiences are discussed.