Tolerance is Not Enough: The Moderating Role of Optimism on Perceptions of Regional Economic Performance

Current theories on economic growth are stressing the important role of creativity and innovation as a main driver of regional development. Some perspectives, like Richard Florida’s ‘creative class theory’, have elected tolerance and diversity as a core concept in explaining differential development between different places, but his assumptions are challenged by other empirical and theoretical studies. In this article, we raise the possibility that tolerance is a necessary yet not a sufficient ingredient to trigger economic development in regions, and explore the role of subjective well-being (life-satisfaction, happiness, and optimism) as a moderator. Using a nationwide survey of 3,757 respondents from 21 different municipalities, the results show that optimism played the role of moderator, thus evidencing that psychological variables should be taken into account when trying to understand regional economic development.     

Acceptance of Global Positioning System (GPS) Technology Among Dementia Clients and Family Caregivers

The purpose of this study was to examine the acceptance of Global Positioning System (GPS) used to help people with dementia, who are at risk for wandering in their communities. We used a mixed methods research approach that included use logs, pre and post paper-based questionnaires, and focus groups. Forty-five client-caregiver pairs (dyads) were included to use one of the GPS devices for an average of 5.8 months over a 1-year period. GPS acceptance was high; dyads were likely to continue using the GPS. According to the participants, the GPS provided caregivers peace of mind and reduced anxiety in dyads when clients got lost.     

Spatial Distribution of Social Inequality in the Metropolitan District of Quito,Ecuador

Social Indicators Research - Exploring the spatial variation of regional social inequality allows the design of public policies; therefore, this study analyzes this phenomenon in the Metropolitan...     

Modification of Semivalues for Games with Coalition Structures

Consideration of reference systems for semivalues leads us to a global representation of the action of a semivalue on a game. Using this representation, we show how to modify semivalues to take account of coalition structures on the player set. The players' allocations according to a semivalue, including a modified semivalue, can be computed by means of products of matrices obtained from the multilinear extension of the game.     

Expected utility from additive utility on semigroups

In the present paper we study the framework of additive utility theory, obtaining new results derived from a concurrence of algebraic and topological techniques. Such techniques lean on the concept of a connected topological totally ordered semigroup. We achieve a general result concerning the existence of continuous and additive utility functions on completely preordered sets endowed with a binary operation ``+', not necessarily being commutative or associative. In the final part of the paper we get some applications to expected utility theory, and a representation theorem for a class of complete preorders on a quite general family of real mixture spaces.     

Forecasting a class of doubly stochastic Poisson processes

Received: July 21, 2000; revised version: April 24, 2001     

The ‘Parkour Organisation’: inhabitation of corporate spaces

This paper discusses the corporate city and the way it structures the experience of its inhabitants. The corporate city is seen here as the embodiment of power relationships of a distinctly postmodern nature, a means to preserve and promote hegemonic and homogenising discourses like globalisation and consumerism. Corporate design and architecture embody specific kinds of relationships, experiences and perceptions of space and place. We will suggest that the corporate city is homogenised, lacking richness of civic space, not just in terms of form but in terms of structures (both, spatial structures and the kind of social structures/interactions they invite). The activities of a group of traceurs practising parkour are described and their philosophy is explained as a metaphor for active participation and dialectic relationship between the actual and the possible structures of the world. Richness of experience, strengthening of community, variety of activity, openness and possibility are irrelevant (actually, inimical) to the corporate forces that shape our cities today. However, as the experience of parkour demonstrates, extreme artforms of ‘urban activism’ but also, more importantly, human agency and the performativity of the everyday, are capable of transforming the otherwise alienating non‐places, to grounds of possibility, creativity and civic identity.     

It's His Right,It's Her Duty: Benevolent Sexism and the Justification of Traditional Sexual Roles

This study tested the effects on social perceptions of sexual marital rights and duties of ambivalent sexist ideology and information about the benevolent sexist ideology of a husband, portrayed in a hypothetical marital vignette. In addition, the perception of whether hypothetical forced sex between husband and wife is considered rape was explored. For one half of the participants (college students), the husband was presented as high in benevolent sexism (BS); and for the other half, no information about his ideology was given. Results showed that participants in the first group ranked sexual marital rights (for him) and duties (for her) more highly, and regarded forced sex as rape to a lesser extent. Positive relationships were also found between participants’ BS and these ratings. Moreover, participants’ perceptions of marital rights and duties played a mediating role in the relationship between their BS and their perception of forced penetration as rape. Finally, an interaction was found between participants’ and husbands’ BS in the perception of marital rights and duties: The influence of participants’ BS was higher when the husband was presented as a benevolent sexist man. Results highlight the role of sexist attitudes in the interpretation of marital rape.     

Foreign Location Choice: Review and Extensions

International Business (IB) research on foreign‐location choice has experienced a revival in recent years, yet a comprehensive review has been sorely lacking. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the findings of recently published articles on the topic of foreign‐location choice and offer fruitful directions for future research. This review consists of three sections: first, the authors provide a historical overview of this research stream by tracing its origins and analyzing the general trend that has shaped research on foreign‐location choice. Next, the authors conduct a review of 137 recent articles published in leading IB and business/management journals. These articles are categorized according to common topics, and the main findings of each category are synthesized in order to bring some cohesion to this fragmented field. Lastly, the authors identify issues that remain under‐researched or require re‐thinking some taken‐for‐granted assumptions. Through this effort, they are able to connect the past, present and future of research on foreign‐location choice and to shed some new light on the IB literature.     

Is the German system of corporate governance converging towards the Anglo-American model?

This paper analyses whether the German corporate governance is converging towards Anglo-American practices. We summarise the extant empirical evidence on the various governance mechanisms that economic theory suggests ensure efficiency and describe recent legal developments. We find no clear signs of convergence in form, i.e. the main distinctive features of the German system have remained largely unaltered. However, changes occurred over the last decade (specially in the legal framework) suggest a certain convergence in function, i.e. some governance mechanisms have effectively incorporated aims and/or goals generally associated with the Anglo-American model.