Green Care services in the Nordic countries: an integrative literature review

This article reviews Nordic literature on Green Care for people out of work or school, or with mental health- and/or drug-related problems, published from 1995 to April 2014. Green Care is a well-established international concept that uses animals, plants and nature in an active process to offer health-promoting activities for people. Reports, evaluations and scientific articles are included. The main finding was that the Green Care services described in the literature provided positive activities for our target group. Seven main categories emerged during the analysis: mastery and coping, positive effects on mental health, physical activity, structure and meaningfulness, the feeling of dignity produced by performing a decent ordinary job, social gains, animals and nature experienced as being supportive. Essential intervention factors identified can be described as: (i) contact with animals, (ii) supportive natural environments, (iii) the service leader as a significant important other, (iv) social acceptance and fellowship with other participants and (v) meaningful and individually adapted activities in which mastery can be experienced. These five components interact in a holistic way; the synergetic effects extend the sum of the single factors.     

Competitive intelligence embeddedness: Drivers and performance consequences

The proliferation of Web-based information sources and social media draw firms' attention to these channels as sources of competitive intelligence (CI). To date, research has focused mainly on information collection techniques rather than on CI uses and its influence on firm performance. We define CI embeddedness as the extent to which management and employees incorporate CI in daily routines, so that actionable knowledge is transferred throughout the organization. A survey of 124 decision makers reveals positive impact of Web CI sources as well as alliances with information providers on CI embeddedness. Furthermore, while CI embeddedness shows no direct influence on firms’ performance, it has a mediated effect on performance through customer satisfaction.     

Race and the beauty premium: Mechanical Turk workers’ evaluations of Twitter accounts

ABSTRACT

Race, gender, and physical attractiveness strongly affect perceptions of trustworthiness and subsequent face-to-face interactions. This study examines how social media users’ perceived gender, race, and physical attractiveness can impact their standing online. We test these broad hypotheses by having Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers evaluate a sample of 816 Twitter accounts. Our results show a ‘beauty premium,’ where MTurk workers say they are more likely to follow Twitter accounts with attractive pro?le photos, and attractive photos are positively associated with evaluations of trust. However, very attractive Black male and female Twitter accounts are associated with lower evaluations of trust compared to their White counterparts. These findings suggest that social media users’ social characteristics, perceived from their username or profile image, can replicate offline inequality online.     

Profile parallelism in repeated measures designs

Three statistics are developed to test tor treatment by time interaction after a certain point in repeated measures designs under several covariance matrix configurations, viz., unstructured, spherically symmetric and autoregressive. An example is fully developed.     

The relationship between binge drinking and prosocial bystander behavior among college men

Abstract

Objectives: This study prospectively examined binge drinking’s effect on prosocial bystander behavior and indicators of bystander behavior: intentions to intervene, self-efficacy to intervene, and positive outcome expectancies for intervening. Participants: College men were recruited from February to April 2010. Methods: Pre- and posttest surveys were administered as part of a randomized controlled trial (n?=?743). Potential confounders were identified using Pearson product-moment correlations. Controlling for covariates, multiple linear regression was used to examine whether binge drinking was predictive of prosocial bystander behavior and indicators of bystander behavior. Results: Binge drinking was related to lower bystander behavior (p<.05), lower intentions to intervene (p<.001), and less positive outcome expectancies for intervening (p<.05). Conclusions: Binge drinking may reduce the ability to notice a risk situation and intervene as a prosocial bystander. Results highlight the need for bystander programs to address alcohol use within the context of bystander behavior.     

Tanning benefits,seasonal effects,and concerns about sunscreen: Measuring health beliefs about UV among college students

Abstract

Objective: To develop and validate a scale measuring health beliefs about UV in cloudy climates that may impact UV exposure behaviors. Participants: Students at a large university in Oregon completed pilot (N?=?115) and final (N?=?335) scales online March–July, 2016. Five participants underwent cognitive interviews. Methods: Expert feedback, cognitive interviews, and pilot data guided item development and refinement. We conducted factor analysis and invariance testing. Results: The final four-factor model fit well (χ²?=?37.97, df?=?37, RMSEA?=?0.000, CFI?=?1.000). HBAU subscales are Sunscreen Toxicity, Seasonal Effects, Health Benefits of Tanning, and Tanning Through the Winter. Invariance testing supported strong invariance across sex and tanning status. Conclusion: The HBAU measures beliefs that encourage UV exposure and discourage protection (eg, the belief that sunscreen ingredients are toxic). This scale will enable more comprehensive measurement of cognitive predictors of UV exposure for student health, clinical, and research purposes.     

CEO humility,narcissism and firm innovation: A paradox perspective on CEO traits

We examine how two seemingly contradictory yet potentially complementary CEO traits—humility and narcissism—interact to affect firm innovation. We adopt a paradox perspective and propose that individuals can have paradoxical traits and that, in particular, humility and narcissism can coexist harmoniously, especially among the Chinese, whose philosophical tradition embraces paradoxical thinking and behaving. CEOs that are both humble and narcissistic are hypothesized to be more likely to have socialized charisma, to cultivate an innovative culture, and to deliver innovative performance. Two studies using multisource data involving 63 CEOs, 328 top managers, and 645 middle managers in Study 1 and 143 CEOs and 190 top managers in Study 2 support the hypotheses and point to new directions for studying CEO traits and their effects on firm outcomes.     

Empirically supported ethical research practice: The costs and benefits of research from the participants’ view

Researchers and institutional review boards are routinely called upon to evaluate the cost‐benefit status of proposed research protocols that involve human participants. Often these assessments are based on subjective judgments in the absence of empirical data. This reliance on subjective judgments is of particular concern for studies involving clinical samples where unfounded assumptions may adversely affect research progress or clinical outcomes. The Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire (RRPQ) was designed to address this shortcoming and to help promote ethical decision making about research practice. The present study describes development of the RRPQ and presents a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses investigating its structure. Based on these findings, a revised version of the instrument and suggestions for future research are presented. This approach provides a foundation for scientifically informed protection of human subjects.     

Homelessness, Mental Illness and Citizenship

Assertive mental health outreach to homeless persons, which operates under the premise that mental illness must be understood and treated within the individual's social and economic environment, points towards the goals of community membership and 'citizenship'—a connection to the rights, responsibilities, roles, and resources that society offers through public and social institutions and informal 'associational life'—for homeless persons. We argue that the concept of citizenship is a useful framework for approaching these goals. We review the principles of assertive mental health outreach and relevant aspects of contemporary citizenship theory; present a case example of outreach leading to a 'citizenship project'; and discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of a citizenship framework, including strategies and recommendations for program administrators, researchers and policy makers.     

Improving Field Instruction: An Evaluation of a Seminar for New Field Instructors

Abstract

The field work component of social work education plays an important role in fusing the knowledge, skills, and values of the profession. Moreover, field instructors must be competent to ensure the success of the educational process. Thus, the training of new field instructors is critical to this success. This article reports the findings of a study evaluating the impact of a training seminar for new field instructors on student perceptions of the field experience. A 10-session seminar in field instruction was offered to new direct practice field instructors as a requirement for continued supervision of students. Students' responses to a questionnaire about their field instruction indicated that seminar attendance was related to the degree of emphasis on teaching students from process recordings and also on discussion of student learning needs. Students with trained field instructors were more satisfied with the faculty field liaison. Overall, trained instructors demonstrated expected supervisory behavior more often than untrained instructors for 75% of the 83 supervisory activities studied, although only a limited number of comparisons reached statistical significance.