Automatically Detected Nonverbal Behavior Predicts Creativity in Collaborating Dyads

In the current study we administered a creative task in which two people collaboratively generated novel strategies to conserve resources. During this task, the nonverbal behavior of 104 participants in 52 pairs was tracked and recorded using the Kinect computer vision algorithm. We created a measure of synchrony by correlating movements between the two dyad members, and showed that synchrony occurred—that is, correlations decreased when we increased delay between the recorded movements of pair members. We also demonstrated a link between nonverbal synchrony and creativity, as operationalized by the number of new, valid ideas produced. Linear correlations demonstrated a significant relationship between synchrony and creativity. Finally, models using synchrony scores as input predicted whether dyads were high or low in creativity with a success rate as high as 86.7 % in the more exclusive subsets. We discuss implications for methodological approaches to measuring nonverbal behavior and synchrony, and suggest practical applications which can leverage the current findings.     

Blazing new trails or opportunity lost? Evaluating research at the intersection of leadership and entrepreneurship

More than a decade ago, scholars formally conceptualized the potential synergy between leadership and entrepreneurship scholarship. Our work highlights research accomplishments occurring at the interface of these two intellectual areas as well as identifying untapped possibilities for continued research. We highlight how recent efforts have witnessed a mutual exchange of ideas that present opportunities benefiting both fields. Drawing from four key domains of entrepreneurship previously proposed to mutually inform future leadership research efforts, we make suggestions for integrating entrepreneurial opportunities, the roles of individual and entrepreneurial teams, the modes of organizing entrepreneurial ventures, and differing entrepreneurial environments with key trends important to leadership research, such as servant leadership and leader-member exchange theory. Overall, our work provides an assessment of the state of the art surrounding the coalescence of leadership and entrepreneurship research and sets an agenda for the next decade of research at this intersection.     

A Test of Basic Assumptions of Affective Events Theory (AET) in Call Centre Work1

Based on data from 2091 call centre representatives working in 85 call centres in the UK, central assumptions of affective events theory (AET) are tested. AET predicts that specific features of work (e.g. autonomy) have an impact on the arousal of emotions and moods at work that, in turn, co‐determine job satisfaction of employees. AET further proposes that job satisfaction is an evaluative judgement that mainly explains cognitive‐based behaviour, whereas emotions and moods better predict affective‐based behaviour. The results support these assumptions. A clear separation of key constructs (job satisfaction, positive and negative emotions) was possible. Moreover, correlations between several work features (e.g. supervisory support) and job satisfaction were, in part, mediated by work emotions, even when controlling for gender, age, call centre type (in‐house versus outsourced centres) and call centre size. Predictions regarding consequences of satisfaction and affect were partly corroborated as continuance commitment was more strongly related to job satisfaction than to positive emotions. In addition, affective commitment and health complaints were related to both emotions and job satisfaction to the same extent. Thus, AET is a fruitful framework for explaining why and how specific management strategies used for designing work features influence important organizational attitudes and well‐being of employees.     

Ethics in population-based genetic research

Population-based genetic research, including genetic epidemiology, shows tremendous potential to elucidate the role of genes as causal factors in complex and common human diseases. Like all research with human subjects, full realization of these benefits requires careful attention to its ethical conduct, establishing an appropriate balance between individual protections and the advancement of scientific and medical knowledge. This article reviews the growing literature on genetics research and ethics to describe some of the fundamental ethical issues in population-based genetics research, including research design, recruitment and informed consent, and dealing with research results. Its focus is on areas where consensus is forming and where future work is needed.     

Marital Shopping and Epidemic AIDS

HIV risks decline sharply at age 30 for women in South Africa, long before coital frequencies or pregnancies decrease. I evaluate several prominent behavioral models of HIV, and find that these do not suggest sharply decreasing risks with age. I formulate a model of spousal search and find that “marital shopping” can generate epidemic HIV prevalence despite low transmission rates because search behavior interacts with dynamics of HIV infectiousness. The implied age-infection profile closely mimics that in South Africa, and the suggested behavior matches that reported by South Africans. Condom use in new relationships and transmission rate reductions are both found to be effective policies and, when used together, eliminate the potential of spousal search to spread HIV. In contrast, antiretroviral treatment is found to have only a minimal effect on the epidemic.     

Social Networks and Support,Gender, and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Hypertension Among Older Adults

Using data from the 2001 NHIS and the 2005–2006 and 2007–2008 NHANES, we examine how self-reporting a previous diagnosis of hypertension among adults aged 65+ differs by race/ethnicity for men and women; we explore the extent to which disparities are driven by group differences in social risk factors, particularly social support and integration; and last, whether these relationships mimic patterns seen for measured hypertension at interview. Findings indicate that rates of ever-diagnosed hypertension in both samples are highest among black seniors and older women and lowest among Mexican-American men, with the gender gap lowest among whites and substantially higher among blacks and Mexican-Americans. However, replication analyses of NHANES models using measured hypertension, instead of a self-report of having ever been diagnosed with hypertension, suggests that reporting bias and measurement error contribute to observed disparities, as racial/ethnic differences in hypertension rates are smaller when measured hypertension is examined, especially among women. Logistic regression models also show that while adjusting for group differences in measures of support and integration mediates some of the disparity in measured hypertension between Mexican-American and white seniors, adjusting for support and integration amplifies black-white disparities in both ever diagnosed and measured hypertension—driven primarily by adjustment for attendance at religious services, which reduces hypertension risk for all older adults but is more commonly reported among black seniors, especially women.     

Preliminary evidence regarding the hypothesis that the sex ratio at sexual maturity may affect longevity in men

In human populations, variation in mate availability has been linked to various biological and social outcomes, but the possible effect of mate availability on health or survival has not been studied. Unbalanced sex ratios are a concern in many parts of the world, and their implications for the health and survival of the constituent individuals warrant careful investigation. We indexed mate availability with contextual sex ratios and investigated the hypothesis that the sex ratio at sexual maturity might be associated with long-term survival for men. Using two unique data sets of 7,683,462 and 4,183 men who were followed for more than 50 years, we found that men who reached their sexual maturity in an environment with higher sex ratios (i. e., higher proportions ofreproductively ready men) appeared to suffer higher long-term mortality risks than those in an environment with lower sex ratios. Mate availability at sexual maturity may be linked via several biological and social mechanisms to long-term survival in men.     

The importance of job training to job satisfaction of older workers

If job training has positive impacts on worker satisfaction, then job training can have desirable consequences for an organization that result both directly through its effects on productivity and indirectly through its effects on job satisfaction. Furthermore, the aging of the workforce implies that older workers will become increasingly important to firms and to the economy. This study, therefore, seeks to examine the relationship between job training and job satisfaction, focusing in particular on U.S. workers born in 1964 or earlier. The results of ordered logit regression analysis indicate that availability and quality of training received directly affect job satisfaction.