Productive organizational energy mediates the impact of organizational structure on absorptive capacity

The ability of an organization to cope with radical technological change is regarded to be heavily dependent on its ability to absorb and apply knowledge from its environment. This study investigates the role of organizational structure in driving absorptive capacity and uncovers the role of the emergent phenomenon of organizational energy as the enabler of this relationship. A field study was conducted among firms that are challenged by the disruptive nature of Cloud computing. Our results show that organizational design affects the degree of mobilization of an organization's affective, cognitive and behavioral resources, which in turn influence the effectiveness of learning processes related to the absorption and exchange of knowledge within the organization. Furthermore, they reveal the positive relationship between the enactment of absorptive capacity and the successful adoption of Cloud technology for incumbent firms. The findings contribute to our understanding of the micro-foundations of absorptive capacity and how positive organizational phenomena facilitate effective adoption and implementation of emerging technologies.     

An association between bone mineral density and anabolic hormones in middle-aged and elderly men with prediabetes

Introduction: Prediabetes (PD) leads to reduced testosterone (T) in males, but the association between the anabolic hormones and bone mineral density (BMD) remains unknown.

Objectives: We investigated an association between the anabolic hormones and BMD in middle-aged and elderly men with PD.

Methods: We investigated 84 prediabetic and 56 control men. Total T (TT), calculated free T (cFT), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were measured, and BMD was assessed using DXA methods.

Results: Patients with PD had lower TT (p?p?<?.005), and DHEAS (p?<?.02) than control group. BMD values of the lower lumbar spine (p?<?.02) and total body (p?<?.05) in prediabetic men were lower than in control group. Lumbar spine BMD correlated with TT (r?=?0.376), cFT (r?=?0.235), and HbA1c (r?=??0.368); femoral neck BMD correlated with TT (r?=?0.412) and cFT (r?=?0.421). The high lumbar spine and femur neck BMD was associated with high TT, cFT, and low HbA1c, while the high total body BMD with high TT, cFT, and low HbA1c.

Conclusion: The anabolic hormones significantly affect BMD in male with PD, and screening for low BMD is necessary in these patients.     

The “ugly” face of social investment? The politics of childcare in Central and Eastern Europe

In this article, we aim to understand the development dynamics of a specific area of social investment (SI), that is, childcare policies, in the context of postcommunist politics and the recent right-wing turn that took place in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. This article identifies varieties of channels for promoting SI. First, in taking the perspective of the “mixed economy of welfare,” we argue that attempts made to introduce elements of SI to the childcare policies involved various leading roles available for either the private sector or state/public domain. Second, it is important to distinguish between implicit/unintended and explicit/intended projects both in relation to cases in which SI strategy is applied via marketization/privatization and when it involves a government-led project. Third, we take into account the politics of SI implementation that might involve applying certain principles central to policy concepts (such as “investment”) in justifying policy instruments incompatible with original ideas. Although arguments about SI have been extensively used by Eastern European leaders, their goal has been to justify welfare reforms that were implicitly or explicitly directed towards the middle class while excluding the “nondeserving” often based on ethnic identity. We characterize Poland as a case of “implicit marketization,” the Czech Republic as a case of “explicit privatization,” and the Hungarian version of SI as a case of “explicit public dualization.” In this, we show that in some cases, the implementation of SI approaches by right-wing populist parties might rear its “ugly” head.     

Blinking While Speaking and Talking,Hearing, and Listening: Communication or Individual Underlying Process?

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior - Why do eye-blinks activate during conversation? We manipulated informational content and communicative intent exchanged within dyads. By comparison to a silent...     

On units of Analysis and Creativity Theory: Towards a “Molecular” Perspective

This article addresses the issue of units of analysis and atomistic models in psychology taking creativity research as a case study. A classic typology in this area, initially proposed by Rhodes (1961), distinguishes between the four P's of creativity: person, process, product, and press (environment). Continuing an effort to rewrite this basic language of the discipline from a cultural psychological perspective in the form of five A's (actor, audience, action, artefact, affordances), the discussion here focuses on bringing relationships to the fore within this framework and problematising strict distinctions between each of the five elements. A closer look at the five A's of creativity, drawing on theoretical considerations and illustrated by interviews with creators working in different domains, reveals the permeable borders surrounding these units and challenges clear divisions between actors and audiences, action and artefacts, actors and artefacts. In the end, it is argued that creative phenomena cannot be properly understood and studied outside of their integrated and dynamic totality defined as a creativity complex. Implications of adopting this “molecular” perspective for theory and methodology are discussed.     

Someone who Treats you as an Ordinary Human Being ... Homeless Youth Examine the Quality of Professional Care

Professor dr. Micha de Winter, Utrecht University, Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, POB 80.140, 3508 TC Utrecht, the Netherlands. Summary In this article we describe a peer-research project, in whichnineteen homeless youngsters interviewed 190 of their ‘colleagues’about the quality of professional care and the improvementsthat, according to them, should be made. The interviews werefollowed by discussion meetings with social workers and policymakers. The youngsters report mixed feelings about the professionalcare system. On the one hand they think they should do morethemselves, there should not be too much professional interferenceand certainly not a patronizing attitude. On the other hand,they want better advice and assistance which is rather basedon a joint effort. The essence of professional care is, accordingto both the young and the professional participants, to finda balance between independence and assistance. From an educationalpoint of view, social workers and adolescents operate at daggersdrawn. Conflict and opposing views are often an inherent partof the road to gaining autonomy. This process, which is oftenpainful, can only be successfully completed in an atmosphereof sincerity, mutual trust and consultation. Dialogue at alllevels is believed to be a sine qua non in the improvement ofprofessional care for homeless youth.     

Nonparametric estimation in the illness-death model using prevalent data

We study nonparametric estimation of the illness-death model using left-truncated and right-censored data. The general aim is to estimate the multivariate distribution of a progressive multi-state process. Maximum likelihood estimation under censoring suffers from problems of uniqueness and consistency, so instead we review and extend methods that are based on inverse probability weighting. For univariate left-truncated and right-censored data, nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation can be considerably improved when exploiting knowledge on the truncation distribution. We aim to examine the gain in using such knowledge for inverse probability weighting estimators in the illness-death framework. Additionally, we compare the weights that use truncation variables with the weights that integrate them out, showing, by simulation, that the latter performs more stably and efficiently. We apply the methods to intensive care units data collected in a cross-sectional design, and discuss how the estimators can be easily modified to more general multi-state models.     

Emigration of Poles to the United Kingdom: history,present state and future prospects

The history of Polish immigration within the United Kingdom is several centuries old. Yet never in its history was such a mass migration as that after the Polish accession to the EU in 2004. During the over ten years that followed, almost a million Poles chose to settle in the United Kingdom. This article reviews and analyses past and present Polish emigration to the United Kingdom. It provides answers to questions regarding who the Polish immigrants are, what work they perform and how they have integrated within British society. It also considers the factors that have influenced the future dynamics of migration from Poland. Based on these, we have formed the hypothesis that while the years of 2004‐2016 saw, statistically, the largest emigration from Poland to the United Kingdom in recorded history, in the future, the number of Polish expatriates living in the United Kingdom will drop or at least the number of newcomers will decrease.     

The effect of dance therapy on the balance of women over 60 years of age: The influence of dance therapy for the elderly

Dance therapy is a physical activity that can lead to balance improvement in older adults. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of dance therapy on balance and risk of falls in older women. Twenty-four older women (mean age 66.4 years old) attended dance sessions for three months. Pretest/posttests were completed using the Postural Stability Test, the Limits of Stability Test, and the Fall Risk Test M-CTSIB. Results showed the Limits of Stability Test was significantly higher (17.5%) after dance classes. Regular use of dance therapy shows promise in improving balance by increasing the limits of stability.