Governance structures of socially complex knowledge flows: Exchange, entitlement and gifts

The intangible aspects of knowledge transfer in multinational corporations (MNCs) continue to be a crucial area of research in social science research and raise the issue of knowledge governance structures. The purpose of this conceptual note is twofold. Firstly, we believe that there is more than one governance structure for successful knowledge transfers and flows. We provide a typology of three governance structures: “exchange,” “entitlement,” “gifts.” Secondly, most MNCs will need to take advantage of all three or a combination of these three socially complex governance structures.     

Behind the allure of gambling: A qualitative exploration of the existential yearnings of Chinese men with problem gambling in Hong Kong

Drawing on a qualitative exploratory study of the gambling narratives of a group of Chinese men with problem gambling in Hong Kong, this paper proposes an alternative understanding of problem gambling. Rather than identifying problem gambling as a personal deficit or pathology, a narrative analysis of these Chinese men's gambling stories reveals their existential yearnings behind problem gambling. Told from the perspectives of these men, their gambling narratives invite us as researchers and practitioners to explore the meanings gamblers ascribe to gambling which they derived from the interplay between the socioeconomic and cultural ethos of the society and their personal histories. This offers us new insights into their motivations of gambling. As an attempt to fill the methodological gap in gambling studies, this paper also shows how an in-depth narrative research method can contribute to expanding our understanding of problem gambling beyond pathology.     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Interparental Relationship Quality on Child Behavior Problems in Low-Income,Black, Single-Mother Families

ABSTRACT

Evidence of direct and indirect effects of interparental relationship quality and parental contexts on child behavior problems is well established. However, limited literature exists about these associations in low-income, Black families in which the parents are not married. Informed by the risk and resilience theoretical perspective, this study hypothesized that disharmonious interparental relations would predict greater preschool child behavior problems directly and indirectly through maternal parenting factors and father contact. Economic difficulties and low maternal education would exacerbate these problems. This study included 2,115 Black, single mothers from Waves 1–3 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study data sets. Using structural equation modeling, a strong model fit indicated that our hypotheses were supported. Discussion includes policy and practice implications related to the Healthy Marriage Initiative.     

The longitudinal effects of parental monitoring and self-control on depression in Korean adolescents: A multivariate latent growth approach

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal effects of parental monitoring and self-control on depression. To address this purpose, this study investigated the interrelationships among depression, perceived parental monitoring, and self-control—as well as their developmental changes from the eighth to the twelfth grades—by repeated assessment of 3449 Korean adolescents. The data from Korea Youth Panel Survey (KYPS) of the eighth graders who were followed for five years were analyzed using latent growth modeling. The univariate latent growth models showed that adolescents experience an increase in both parental monitoring and self-control but a decline in depression over the five years. In addition, the multivariate latent growth model suggested that the initial level of parental monitoring had significant effects, both directly and indirectly through self-control, on the initial level of depression. The linear changes in parental monitoring were associated with the linear changes in self-control; likewise, the linear changes in self-control were related to those in depression. These results imply that parental monitoring and self-control need to be emphasized as a strategy in order to prevent or alleviate adolescents' depression.     

The Economic Value of Career Counseling Services for College Students in South Korea

This study investigated college students’ perception of the monetary value of career counseling services by using the contingent valuation method. The results of a multivariate survival analysis based on interviews with a convenience sample of 291 undergraduate students in South Korea indicate that, on average, participants’ expressed willingness to pay (WTP) for such services ranged from U.S. $10.22 to $10.54 per hour of individual career counseling. Self‐stigma and attitudes toward counseling had positive effects on their WTP, whereas the year in college and social stigma had negative effects. The results provide policy makers with preliminary evidence of the monetary value of career counseling.     

Self-Neglect and Neglect of Vulnerable Older Adults: Reexamination of Etiology

Using assessment and investigation data from the reported APS cases in Texas, this study examines the types of elder self-neglect and neglect, including medical neglect. It then examines the association between self-neglect and neglect and individual economic resources as well as health care and social service programs for the poor. The findings show that elder self-neglect/neglect is, in large part, attributable to frail older adults' and their families' lack of resources to pay for essential goods and services and the inadequate healthcare and other formal support programs for the older adults and their caregivers. This inadequate public policy coverage, rather than individual and intrafamily risk factors per se, needs to be considered as a significant cause of elder self-neglect/neglect.     

Causal Effects of Single-Sex Schools on College Entrance Exams and College Attendance: Random Assignment in Seoul High Schools

Despite the voluminous literature on the potentials of single-sex schools, there is no consensus on the effects of single-sex schools because of student selection of school types. We exploit a unique feature of schooling in Seoul—the random assignment of students into single-sex versus coeducational high schools—to assess causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores and college attendance. Our validation of the random assignment shows comparable socioeconomic backgrounds and prior academic achievement of students attending single-sex schools and coeducational schools, which increases the credibility of our causal estimates of single-sex school effects. The three-level hierarchical model shows that attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores on Korean and English test scores. Applying the school district fixed-effects models, we find that single-sex schools produce a higher percentage of graduates who attended four-year colleges and a lower percentage of graduates who attended two-year junior colleges than do coeducational schools. The positive effects of single-sex schools remain substantial, even after we take into account various school-level variables, such as teacher quality, the student-teacher ratio, the proportion of students receiving lunch support, and whether the schools are public or private.     

Self-Regulatory Driving Behaviors: Gender and Transportation Support Effects

This study examined the relationship between transportation support and self-regulatory driving behaviors of 566 community-dwelling older adults living in retirement communities, with a focus on gender differences. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that older women were more likely to avoid driving at night or on the highway than their male counterparts. Transportation support from peer friends was found to increase the likelihood of self-regulatory driving behaviors. The findings of this study imply that transportation policy and driving safety programs for older adults need to be developed, considering available transportation alternatives and gender differences in driving behaviors.     

Assessing the trait theory of leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group success

The trait theory of leadership suggests that personality traits influence leader emergence and effectiveness. While initial empirical evidence supports this perspective, the majority of studies have examined the relationship between personality and leadership using self ratings of personality. We believe that this research may underestimate the relationship between personality and leadership. We propose that personality assessed using both self and observer ratings explains more variance in leadership than self ratings of personality alone. Results from 155 participants in leaderless group discussions supported this hypothesis. Further, relative weight analysis revealed that observer ratings of extraversion explained the largest percentage of variance in leadership, followed by self ratings of openness to experience and observer ratings of openness to experience. Results of two-stage least squares regression analysis showed that the relationship between personality and leadership was mediated by contributions to group success. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.