What Makes You Happy?: A Comparison of Self-reported Criteria of Happiness Between Two Cultures

Based on the cross-cultural psychosocial notion of individualism and collectivism, comparisons between two contrasting cultures with regard to the criteria for avowed happiness were made. The Happiness Questionnaire, which contains four open-ended questions (e.g., “What makes you happy?”), and two objective items assessing the level of perceived happiness were administered to Canadian and Korean students. The responses to the four questions were content-analyzed along 14 categories. Comparisons of the proportions in each of the 14 categories revealed that, although the students from the two cultures differed in their absolute level of perceived happiness, they seemed to employ essentially the same ordered set of criteria in expressing their avowed happiness.     

International Aid,Local Ownership,and Survival: Development and Higher Education in Rural Haiti

This case study of Rural Haitian University highlights the complexities and consequences that may arise from a combination of unpredictable streams of international funding, financial vulnerability of communities, and the strategies that civic leaders employ to mobilize resources. We argue that the encounter sketched here of local vulnerability following protracted social conflict and a major natural disaster with the international aid machinery has fostered a cycle of dependence/survival strategies in the higher education institution we examine and undermined its ability to achieve its core mission. More generally, we contend that in situations of extreme poverty and heavy international donor influence, “local ownership” may become synonymous with “local survival” unless predicated on the availability of local capacities and site-specific distribution of international resources. We propose one modest initiative to reduce the university’s dependence on international funding through the development of a sustainable tourism enterprise as a way to nurture local ownership and social capital.     

The Potential Roles of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, Stigma Consciousness, and Stereotype Threat in Linking Latino/a Ethnicity and Educational Outcomes

Acculturation and ethnic identity may be associated with Latino/as' educational outcomes and be relevant to their lower levels of academic achievement. This article explores how these relationships might be mediated by considering several empirically supported and theory-based social psychological processes—the self-fulfilling prophecy, stigma consciousness, and stereotype threat. These processes suggest specific mediational mechanisms that remain largely unexamined, thereby offering novel directions for research and the potential to enrich understanding of the relationship between Latino/a ethnicity and academic performance. Consideration of these mediational mechanisms suggests that some groups within the Latino/a population face even greater challenges with regard to educational achievement. Accordingly, the particular difficulties encountered by Latinas and the children of families of migrant workers and new and undocumented immigrants are discussed. In addition, the potential relevance of education policies to the operation of the reviewed processes is explored.     

Fourier methods for analyzing piecewise constant volatilities

AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis - We develop procedures for testing whether a sequence of independent random variables has constant variance. If this is fulfilled, the modulus of a...     

Gender Differences Among Helpline Callers: Prospective Study of Gambling and Psychosocial Outcomes

Despite the increasing amount of empirical research on gambling helplines (e.g., characteristics, effectiveness), little is known about gender differences on treatment outcomes following contact. The present research addresses this gap in the literature via secondary analysis of an uncontrolled outcome study of New Zealand’s gambling helpline (N = 150). To this end, the present research had three aims; (a) explore gender differences (e.g., demographics, co-morbidities, gambling variables) among helpline callers using psychometrically robust measures, (b) assess whether gender predicts treatment utilization following contact and (c) assess whether systematic gender differences exist on gambling and psychosocial outcomes at 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups. The results revealed that at baseline, women compared to men, described greater problem severity and shorter problem duration, and were more likely to report electronic gaming machines as their most problematic form of gambling. Women also reported greater distress and lower quality of life. Men, despite less problem severity and distress, were more likely to access treatment following helpline contact. Importantly, both men and women reported significant and equivalent improvements in both gambling and psychosocial outcomes following helpline contact. The improved outcomes remained significant after controlling for treatment attendance. Although different approaches for women may be required by helplines if the goal is to refer callers to treatment, the results suggest that after calling the helpline, women reduced their problematic gambling and improved psychosocial functioning without further treatment.     

Strong Ties,Weak Ties,and Human Capital: Latino Immigrant Employment Outside the Enclave*

Abstract This study focuses on the role of social ties and human capital in the integration of Latino immigrants into the local economy. This analysis extends earlier research by focusing on more rural contexts with limited labor‐market opportunities and less access to social resources provided by coethnics. We reconsider conclusions of previous studies by focusing on areas with limited labor‐market opportunities and less access to resources provided by coethnics. Using data from in‐depth interviews, focus‐group discussions, and surveys of former farmworkers in five rural communities in New York, we consider how individuals move from agricultural to other types of employment. Multinomial logit and ordinary least squares regression analyses confirm indications from our qualitative data that strong social ties, weak ties, and human capital all play distinctive parts in the economic integration of immigrants outside the ethnic enclave. These resources have the most positive impact on incomes when they contribute to the immigrants' self‐reliance in finding employment. This finding is consistent with observations from the social‐network literature that those who are less reliant on strong social ties are better able to take advantage of a broader range of labor‐market opportunities.     

Prevention of MSD by means of ergonomic risk assessment (tools) in all phases of the vehicle development process

In industrialized countries musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) play an import role and are often responsible for almost one third of the total sick leave. The changes in the demographic profiles, i.e. aging work forces might even worsen this situation in the future. For a highly productive and sustainable use of human resources in production systems, ergonomics offers high potentials. In the recent years the authors have developed several ergonomic risk assessment tools, especially for the use in automotive industries. These methods may be used during the planning phases in the Tech Centers as well as during the production phase at shop floor level. The tools might also be used for a standardized communication in between the Tech Center and the plants to improve the effects of "lessons learned" for the design and layout of workstations and processes and the optimization of vehicle components. This paper describes suitable risk assessment tools as well as the integration of these tools into the vehicle development process. It introduces a comprehensive management approach for the integration of ergonomics into the management of production systems.     

Creating value,not wasting resources: sustainable innovation strategies

It is well-accepted in academic and public debate that society has overused natural resources. Business managers in consequence face a normative framework where products need to become more “sustainable”. The paper characterises the mechanisms and logic that make “[environmentally] sustainable innovation strategies”. Those mechanisms highlight multiple value creation and sustaining value beyond the original new product lifecycle. They yield as much utility as possible from the embedded natural resources. And they avoid creating waste. “Multiple value creation” asks managers to revaluate the attrite product or to make customers change their use patterns. The paper then demonstrates how to extend the “old” logic of innovation with a phase of revaluation: a phase promoting further use of the product and/or material. Our concept is empirically illustrated by two industry case examples. Namely, the copier and the emerging automotive lithium-ion batteries industry. We provide a patent analysis in order to demonstrate the assessment of extended life cycles, for the case of “recovery of raw materials from disposed products”.