The Mirror Effect: Corporate Social Responsibility,Corporate Social Irresponsibility and Firm Performance in Coordinated Market Economies and Liberal Market Economies

We investigate the classic management debate of agency versus institutional pressures through the application of the varieties of capitalism literature. In particular, we examine corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) and their relationships with firm performance in two types of capitalist systems: coordinated market economies (CMEs) and liberal market economies (LMEs). We note that while the CSR literature has tended to develop a balanced view on the influence of agency and institutional pressures, the CSiR literature has tended to emphasize the influence of agency. The latter appears to be a result of the fundamental attribution bias, where irresponsible corporate behaviours are attributed to individual managers or organizations, rather than the institutional environment. Our results, which include five years of data across 16 countries, show significantly greater CSR and significantly lower CSiR in CMEs compared with LMEs. Further, we find a positive relationship between CSR and firm performance in CMEs but not LMEs, and a negative relationship between CSiR and firm performance in LMEs but not CMEs. Overall, our results demonstrate the influence of the institutional environment, suggesting that corporate behaviours mirror the external environment.     

Bivariate modelling of longitudinal measurements of two human immunodeficiency type 1 disease progression markers in the presence of informative drop-outs

Summary.  The main statistical problem in many epidemiological studies which involve repeated measurements of surrogate markers is the frequent occurrence of missing data. Standard likelihood-based approaches like the linear random-effects model fail to give unbiased estimates when data are non-ignorably missing. In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 infection, two markers which have been widely used to track progression of the disease are CD4 cell counts and HIV–ribonucleic acid (RNA) viral load levels. Repeated measurements of these markers tend to be informatively censored, which is a special case of non-ignorable missingness. In such cases, we need to apply methods that jointly model the observed data and the missingness process. Despite their high correlation, longitudinal data of these markers have been analysed independently by using mainly random-effects models. Touloumi and co-workers have proposed a model termed the joint multivariate random-effects model which combines a linear random-effects model for the underlying pattern of the marker with a log-normal survival model for the drop-out process. We extend the joint multivariate random-effects model to model simultaneously the CD4 cell and viral load data while adjusting for informative drop-outs due to disease progression or death. Estimates of all the model's parameters are obtained by using the restricted iterative generalized least squares method or a modified version of it using the EM algorithm as a nested algorithm in the case of censored survival data taking also into account non-linearity in the HIV–RNA trend. The method proposed is evaluated and compared with simpler approaches in a simulation study. Finally the method is applied to a subset of the data from the 'Concerted action on seroconversion to AIDS and death in Europe' study.     

Gender similarity in growth patterns of support toward friends during young adulthood

The purpose of this article was to analyze change over time in a specific aspect of prosocial behavior, emotional support toward friends, using two different methodologies. We examined how emotional support changes during the transition to adulthood and whether gender‐based group comparisons yield different gender patterns than person‐centered growth mixture models. We hypothesized that emotional helping toward friends would increase over time and that person‐centered analyses would not show gender differences as large as those indicated by group comparison models. Participants were 466 young adults (ages 18–21). Findings indicated that important intragroup variance was masked when analyses focused on comparisons between gender groups. Person‐centered analyses indicated two mixed‐gender groups with different prosocial trajectories. We discuss how the methods and outcomes of person‐centered analyses are more congruent with current theories of “gender similarities” as well as empirical evidence of the small gender difference in social behaviors such as emotional support.     

Nano Risk Analysis: Advancing the Science for Nanomaterials Risk Management

Scientists, activists, industry, and governments have raised concerns about health and environmental risks of nanoscale materials. The Society for Risk Analysis convened experts in September 2008 in Washington, DC to deliberate on issues relating to the unique attributes of nanoscale materials that raise novel concerns about health risks. This article reports on the overall themes and findings of the workshop, uncovering the underlying issues for each of these topics that become recurring themes. The attributes of nanoscale particles and other nanomaterials that present novel issues for risk analysis are evaluated in a risk analysis framework, identifying challenges and opportunities for risk analysts and others seeking to assess and manage the risks from emerging nanoscale materials and nanotechnologies. Workshop deliberations and recommendations for advancing the risk analysis and management of nanotechnologies are presented.     

Fragments from a Journal: Reflections on Celibacy and the Role of Women in the Church

This paper argues that priestly abuse is a byproduct of the dissociation of sexuality from spiritual life and religious practice, which developed as a male, authoritarian, ecclesial administrative system evolved within Christianity. The early Church “fathers' interpreted Biblical, Gospel, and Pauline texts through misogynist/antisex lenses that legitimized an all-male, celibate priesthood; the exclusion of women from positions of administrative and sacramental power; and a misogynous view of the sexual body of women. Using the work of feminist theologian/historians, the author deconstructs the origins of what became the Catholic theology of gender and sexuality and proposes the recovery of submerged Christian traditions that see the potential of human erotic love as a spiritual path.     

‘His mam,my dad,my girlfriend,loads of people used to bring him up’: the value of social support for (ex) offender fathers

This research analyses key findings from qualitative research conducted with (ex) offender fathers and their probation officers. This paper focuses on the critical role of family and social support for (ex) offender fathers who seek to build and maintain relationships with their children. The research reported in this paper shows that the men receive social support, both formal and informal from a wide ranging and complex network of family, friends and practitioners, which facilitates and enables their commitment to fathering. Drawing on social support theory, I argue that identification of support networks recognizes the productive possibilities of vulnerable families which constitute a source of strength and connection to be nurtured in contexts of adversity. This strengths‐based paradigm advocates the need to identify and facilitate family, friendship and professional networks in the context of social work with offenders and their families.     

A Bayesian nonparametric estimator of a multivariate survival function

Using reinforced processes related to beta-Stacy process and generalized Pólya urn scheme jointly with a structure assumption about dependence, a Bayesian nonparametric prior and a predictive estimator for a multivariate survival function are provided. This estimator can be computed through an easy implementation of a Gibbs sampler algorithm. Moreover consistency of the estimator is studied.     

Associations Between Friendship,Sympathy, and Prosocial Behavior Toward Friends

The current study examined the associations between multiple aspects of the friend relationship (connection, companionship, psychological control) and global prosocial behavior toward friends. Participants included 467 early adolescents (M age of child = 13.32, SD = 1.05, 49% female, 69% European American), and data were collected at two time points, roughly 1 year apart. Structural equation modeling suggested that friend psychological control was negatively associated with prosocial behavior toward friends, while friend connection was positively associated (via adolescent sympathy). Discussion focuses on the friend relationship as an important influence on adolescent sympathy and prosocial behavior toward friends.