Meaning of touch: The case of touch from a stranger or same sex person

Two hundred and eight respondents rated what it means to them if they are touched on various areas of their body by either a stranger or a close friend of the same or opposite sex. Male and female respondents agree that (a) touch from a close friend of the opposite sex is pleasant, and (b) touch from a same sex person is unpleasant. However, touch from an opposite-sex stranger, is considered to be unpleasant by women but quite pleasant by men. For women, the meaning of a touch is primarily influenced by how well they know the other person; for men, the meaning is primarily determined by the other person's sex. That the intrusiveness of touch depends on acquaintanceship supports the hypothesis that for psychological comfort the level of intimacy of a) nonverbal behavior and b) the social relationship of two people must be congruent.     

Virtual World Interview Skills Training for Students Studying Health Professions

This study examined the effectiveness of a health professional virtual world interview skills trainer (IST), in comparison to classroom training via interview role-plays with peers. Students of psychology, physiotherapy, and general health science learned interviewing skills through role-play and virtual world training. Students were randomly allocated to a role-play-first, or IST-first condition. Interviewing self-efficacy was measured at baseline and after each of the learning experiences. In total, 72 students completed all surveys. Students’ reported an increase in interviewing self-efficacy significantly after the IST experience than after role-play.     

时变视角下房价对制造业投资影响的再审视

在相对宽松的货币政策环境下,近些年房价飞速上涨。房价的快速上涨导致很多资金投向房地产业,而没有投向制造业,对制造业产生的这一影响是中国经济发展所面临的问题之一。在分析了相关影响路径后,使用带有随机波动项的时变参数向量自回归模型,针对房价波动对制造业投资的影响进行了实证分析。实证结果表明,房价上涨对制造业投资存在显著的负向影响,房价冲击带来的这一负向影响在1年左右达到最大,且随着时间的推移,房价波动越剧烈,这种负向影响越明显;企业在股票市场的融资并没有流入制造业,而是更多地去追逐房地产市场的高收益;扩张性货币政策带来的房价上涨导致货币政策对制造业投资的调节作用失效。基于研究结论,建议控制房价预期,减少经济增长对房地产的依赖,推动经济转型带动实体经济发展。     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Grade Retention in a National Sample of US Children*

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include extreme economic hardship, abuse, neglect, household and family dysfunction, and exposure to community violence. Children with ACEs are at a higher risk of developing mental, physical, and developmental disorders that can lead to difficulty in school. Using the 2012 National Survey of Children's Health, we use multivariate logistic regression to examine the association between ACEs and grade retention and the moderating effects of race/ethnicity on this relationship. Results indicate that specific ACEs are related to higher rates of grade retention (economic hardship, parental incarceration, neighborhood violence, and witnessing domestic violence). Children reporting three or more ACEs were at a significantly higher risk of grade retention compared to children with zero reported ACEs. Further, patterns differed among black children in the sample with higher numbers of ACEs not increasing retention rates for black children compared to white children. This study improves our understanding of the relationship between ACEs and grade retention, but also raises questions about differing patterns among racially and ethnically diverse student populations that warrants further study.     

City size matters: Vietnamese immigrants having depressive symptoms

This cross-national study identified predictive factors contributing to depression among 691 Vietnamese migrated to the United States who responded to a community survey in two American cities. Measured by HSCL-25, the overall depression prevalence was 30.5%, higher in a large (32.3%) than mid-size city (19.8%). Logistic regression showed that immigration issues, residing in a large city, being female, having health concerns, and experiencing family concerns are significantly related to Vietnamese immigrants having depressive symptoms. Over half (51.4%) of the respondents sought help, and 46.3% preferred seeing their physicians to address mental health issues. Pre-migration counseling is recommended to prevent depression.     

The Management Skills of Russians: Do Work,Management, and Government Experiences Matter?

This study examines the impacts of different types of experience on management skills of working adults in Russia. The study is based on a sample of 527 MBA students, line and middle managers covering 32 regions in 13 different industries in Russia. This study proves that work experience, management experience, and government experience are significant factors in their technical, human, and conceptual skills. Human skills scores are significantly higher for all groups than group with no management experience. Score for human skills increased with years of government experience only, but not with working or management years of experience.     

Challenges and Strategies of Sexual Minority Youth Research in Southwest Virginia

A research team that works on scholarship related to sexual minority issues has been conducting research and recruiting participants since the fall of 2012. In the years since the team was formed, there has been a variety of challenges with recruitment, approval for research through the Institutional Review Board, gaining access to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) community, and general mistrust of researchers. Using concepts from feminist-informed qualitative research methodology—including reflexivity, positionality, and engaging in research with individuals from marginalized communities—we present reflections on some of the methodological challenges the research team has encountered while trying to conduct LGBQ research in southwest Virginia. This article encompasses the viewpoints of multiple members of the research team, including those who are faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students with identities across the sexual orientation spectrum.     

Debt,precarity and gender: male and female temporary labour migrants in Singapore

As one of Asia’s key hubs for transient workers, Singapore’s migration regime creates particularly gendered streams of labour, especially among lower skilled occupations, as is apparent in two key sectors – domestic work and construction work. Drawing on surveys with Bangladeshi construction workers and Indonesian domestic workers based in Singapore, as well as in-depth interviews with each group, this paper examines gendered issues of temporary labour migration, precarity and risk, as they occur against a backdrop of migrant indebtedness. In this paper, we argue that migrant indebtedness occurs along a spectrum that ranges from less visible, or what we call ‘silently’ incurred forms of debt, through to more ‘resonant’ types of debt that are acquired upfront and thus more readily quantifiable. Using this spectrum of migrant indebtedness, we aim to complicate debates about debt-financed migration by underscoring the ways in which notions of debt and unfreedom can be imbricated with both constraints and opportunities for migrants’ agency.     

Internalized Homonegativity,Confucianism, and Self-Esteem at the Emergence of an LGBTQ Identity in Modern Vietnam

We examine the relationships between internalized homonegativity, Confucianism, and self-esteem among LGBTQ adults who grew up during the Open Door Policy, or ??i M?i, in Vietnam. Participants were identified via activist networks and social media groups. They completed online survey focused on internalized homo/transphobia, self-esteem, and Confucian values. The study revealed that more exposure to Confucian values in early life is related to higher levels of internalized homonegativity. Male-born participants also had a higher level of internalized homonegativity than female-born participants. In general, lower levels of self-esteem were also related to higher levels of internalized homonegativity. We discuss the implications of these findings in light of conflicting values between Confucianism and the economic and social transformation that has occurred under ??i M?i.     

Confidence Matters: Self‐efficacy Moderates the Credit that Supervisors Give to Adaptive and Proactive Role Behaviours

In complex and uncertain work environments, employees need to not only be proficient in carrying out their core duties, but also to be adaptive (able to cope and respond to unpredictable events) and proactive (able to anticipate the situation and act in a self‐directed way) in their work roles. In this study we investigate the extent to which supervisors actually give credit to adaptive and proactive role behaviours when they judge employees’ overall job performance. Drawing on attribution theory, we propose that the extent to which these role behaviours are valued by supervisors will be enhanced by employees’ confidence for relevant role behaviours. Support for these ideas is provided using data from junior doctors and their supervisors in a hospital emergency department. Adaptive role behaviours positively influenced supervisors’ judgements of overall job performance. This relationship was stronger for employees with high self‐efficacy for achieving outcomes. Engaging in proactive role behaviours while also lacking role‐breadth self‐efficacy resulted in supervisors’ giving employees less credit for their proactive role behaviours. Findings support the argument that employees’ self‐efficacy for specific role behaviours provides attributional cues about capability that modify how adaptive and proactive role behaviours are interpreted and valued.