Postconflict Reconciliation: Intergroup Forgiveness and Implicit Biases in Northern Ireland

Even after a conflict has formally ended, there is still a need for postconflict reconciliation and the building of mutual forgiveness and trust between communities. This article addresses psychological processes crucial to moving beyond a history of violent sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. We investigated the predictors of intergroup forgiveness, in terms of intergroup emotions, infrahumanization, empathy, and intergroup contact. Intergroup trust and measures of implicit intergroup bias were also explored in this area of real intergroup conflict. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for postconflict reconciliation in Northern Ireland and other conflict areas.     

Copula structure analysis

Summary.  We extend the standard approach of correlation structure analysis for dimension reduction of high dimensional statistical data. The classical assumption of a linear model for the distribution of a random vector is replaced by the weaker assumption of a model for the copula. For elliptical copulas a correlation-like structure remains, but different margins and non-existence of moments are possible. After introducing the new concept and deriving some theoretical results we observe in a simulation study the performance of the estimators: the theoretical asymptotic behaviour of the statistics can be observed even for small sample sizes. Finally, we show our method at work for a financial data set and explain differences between our copula-based approach and the classical approach. Our new method yielear models also.     

Comparing three alternative types of employment with permanent full-time work: How do employment contract and perceived job conditions relate to health complaints?

Previous research has found that alternative employment arrangements are associated with both impaired and improved well-being. Since such inconsistencies are likely to derive from the type of employment contract as well as the characteristics of the job, this paper compares permanent full-time work with forms of alternative employment (permanent part-time, fixed-term and on-call work) in order to investigate how different employment contracts and perceptions of job conditions relate to individual well-being. This study contributes to the literature by addressing several questions. Different forms of alternative employment are distinguished and individual background characteristics that might be intertwined with the employment contract are controlled for. Moreover, the scope of this study extends to the effects of perceived job conditions, and possible interactive effects with type of employment are tested. Analyses of questionnaire data from 954 Swedish healthcare workers show that perceptions of the job (job insecurity, job control and demands), but not the type of employment contract, predicted health complaints. However, type of employment interacted with perceptions of job insecurity, in that insecurity was associated with impaired well-being among permanent full-time workers, while no relationship was found for on-call or core part-time employees. Despite the absence of interactions between employment contract and job demands or job control, it can be concluded that knowledge about the relationship between alternative employment arrangements and the well-being of workers can be enhanced when the combined effects of employment contract and job conditions are studied.     

Risk‐Taking and the Media

In recent years, media formats with risk‐glorifying content, such as video games that simulate illegal street racing (“bang and crash” games), films about extreme sports, and risky stunts have emerged as top sellers of the media industry. A variety of recent studies conducted by several researchers revealed that exposure to risk‐glorifying media content (e.g., video games that simulate reckless driving, smoking and drinking in movies, or depictions that glorify extreme sports) increases the likelihood that recipients will show increased levels of risk‐taking inclinations and behaviors. The present article (1) reviews the latest research on the detrimental impact of risk‐glorifying media on risk‐taking inclinations (cognitions, emotions, behaviors), (2) puts these findings in the theoretical context of recent sociocognitive models on media effects, and (3) makes suggestions to science and policymakers on how to deal with these effects in the future.     

Eco-efficient supply chain networks: development of a design framework and application to a real case study

This paper presents a supply chain network design framework that is based on multi-objective mathematical programming and that can identify ‘eco-efficient’ configuration alternatives that are both efficient and ecologically sound. This work is original in that it encompasses the environmental impact of both transportation and warehousing activities. We apply the proposed framework to a real-life case study (i.e. Lindt & Sprüngli) for the distribution of chocolate products. The results show that cost-driven network optimisation may lead to beneficial effects for the environment and that a minor increase in distribution costs can be offset by a major improvement in environmental performance. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on eco-efficient supply chain design and closes the missing link between model-based methods and empirical applied research. It also generates insights into the growing debate on the trade-off between the economic and environmental performance of supply chains, supporting organisations in the eco-efficient configuration of their supply chains.     

Do Immigrants Compete with Natives?

The paper analyses the impact of foreign workers on the Italian labour market. We address the issue of whether immigrants from less developed countries are complementary or substitutes to domestic workers. We construct a data set on immigrant workers from the Administrative Social Security Archive which starts in 1986, before the general amnesty of 1990–91, when a large share of illegal immigrants were granted working permits, and end in 1995. A two-stage procedure devised by Moulton is applied to yearly cross-sections of wages by industry and region. Our results show that the inflow of immigrants raises the wages of native manual workers (i.e. it has a complementary effect), and this effect is larger in small firms and in the north of the country. We postulate that the positive impact on native wages is due to the existence of labour constraints on the side of firms. Firms are unable to expand their output because they cannot find native workers who are willing to undertake certain (typically low-skilled) jobs. Immigrants help to fill this gap. This view is reinforced by the fact that over a ‘crucial threshold’ of the share of foreign work (7.7–12 percent) additional inflows in the labour market of foreign work have a negative effect on native wages (i.e. they compete with natives).     

Model determination for categorical data with factor level merging

Summary.  We deal with contingency table data that are used to examine the relationships between a set of categorical variables or factors. We assume that such relationships can be adequately described by the cond`itional independence structure that is imposed by an undirected graphical model. If the contingency table is large, a desirable simplified interpretation can be achieved by combining some categories, or levels, of the factors. We introduce conditions under which such an operation does not alter the Markov properties of the graph. Implementation of these conditions leads to Bayesian model uncertainty procedures based on reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The methodology is illustrated on a 2×3×4 and up to a 4×5×5×2×2 contingency table.     

Taking the Lab to the Field: Monitoring Reproductive Hormones in Population Research

The incorporation of biological measures in social science research allows for the development of robust models, with greater explanatory power. By analyzing the underlying proximate causes of fertility and mortality, biodemographers have been able to model demographic patterns more accurately. Recent technological advances are making possible the analysis of biological samples collected using minimally invasive methods. Methods and techniques are discussed that can be used for estimating hormonal, particularly reproductive hormone, levels in large‐scale population studies in which thousands of samples could be collected. Sample collection methods and techniques reviewed include blood spots, urine samples, and saliva samples. The collection of biological samples is associated with serious ethical concerns. The article discusses the issue of asymmetries in technology between developing and developed countries, emphasizing the need for capacity building and information transfer. Illustrative contributions of biological data are presented.