The impact of social heterogeneity and commodity price shocks on civil conflicts

Do exogenous economic shocks promote civil conflicts directly? Do they affect all the societies alike? The current approach presents a large sample panel data evidence not only on the effect of commodity export price shocks on conflict incidence, rather than onsets, but also on the joint impact of both ethnic and religious polarization and fractionalization on political instability. In this regard, we find out that in ethnically polarized societies, the commodity export price shocks increase violence. Nonetheless, in ethnically and religiously fractionalized societies (as well as religiously polarized), the effect of commodity export price shocks on civil conflicts depends on the type of income shocks and category of commodity. These findings contribute to the existing literature by illuminating the compound effect of both income shocks and social diversity on intrastate conflicts.     

Competitive Strategies and Firm Performance: a Comparative Analysis of Pure,Hybrid and ‘Stuck‐in‐the‐middle’ Strategies in Spanish Firms

The purpose of this study was to examine the viability of hybrid competitive strategies, which combine differentiation and cost elements, and their impact on organizational performance in comparison to pure strategies and ‘stuck‐in‐the‐middle’ combinations. Previous studies have focused above all on US data. The analysis carried out in this paper has centred on a multisectorial sample of 164 Spanish firms. The findings show that a large number of the organizations use different types of hybrid strategies and also that such strategies tend to be associated with higher levels of firm performance, particularly those strategies which place emphasis on a greater number of strategic dimensions, and specifically on innovation differentiation.     

Elder Abuse and Neglect in African American Families: Informing Practice Based on Ecological and Cultural Frameworks

Despite the rapid growth of the elderly African American population in the U.S., elder abuse and neglect in African American families continue to be underdeveloped areas of study. This article presents an ecological and culturally informed framework for the study of elder abuse in African American populations. The model was developed based on Bronfenbrenner's Human Ecological Theory. The model identifies risk factors associated with different systems that have an influence on the lives of African American families. Cultural protective factors also are identified in the model. The model is intended to provide an understanding of elder abuse and neglect in African American families by considering the influence of contextual factors such as the legacy of slavery, social exclusion, and structural segregation and racism. Specific suggestions for practice are proposed according to cultural strengths of African American communities as well as the ecological premises of the model.     

An examination of the mechanisms underlying the effects of physical activity on brain and cognition

Physical activity positively influences brain health and cognitive functioning in older adults. Several physiological and psychological mechanisms have been identified to underlie such a relationship. Cardiovascular fitness is accompanied with changes in mechanisms such as cerebral blood flow, neurotrophic factors, neurotransmitter systems and neural architecture that have themselves been associated with cognitive performance. Factors associated with exercise such as arousal, mood and self-perception of competence seem also to influence cognitive performance. Other explanation for the benefits of exercise in cognition, results from the fact that the performance of motor skills involve an important cognitive component (e.g., executive functions and information processing speed). Evidence of brain plasticity and behavior has been provided from studies where animals are exposed to enriched or complex environments. Exposure to such paradigms in which physical activity plays an important role has been found to influence various aspects of brain function and structure. Studies using neuroimaging techniques have established a link between the acquisition of different motor skills and the occurrence of neuroplasticity in human adults. This literature review indicates that the type of exercise and its specific perceptual and cognitive characteristics may influence cognitive performance. However, most of the research has been focused on self-paced movements or automatized skills and few intervention studies have examined the results of merging exercise and cognitive training in a single program. An important scientific challenge for the coming years is to design exercise programs capable of mobilizing several type of mechanisms underlying the effects of physical activity on brain and cognition.     

Internationally Adopted Children After Arrival: Temperament,Behavior Problems,and Age at Adoption as Predictors of Early Motor and Communication Competence

The temperament dimensions activity, emotionality, and shyness, together with behavior problems, gender, country of birth, and age at adoption, were explored in relation to early motor and communication competence among internationally adopted children in Norway (N = 106, gender: 55 girls and 51 boys, age at adoption: M = 9.99 months, SD = 4.29 months). Based on reports from adoptive mothers, regression analysis including all the variables showed that 56% of the variance in motor competence and 64% in communication competence were explained. Age at adoption explained most of the variance in both areas, while increased level of activity showed a significant correlation with improved motor competence.     

Freedom,Identity, and the Social History of Empire in Atlantic Cuba, 1795–1817

This essay examines a maritime case involving a Charleston-based French privateer in 1795 as well as members, subjects, and citizens of multiple societies from Western Africa, Cuba, Spain, and Great Britain in order to reveal the fluid legal foundations of trans-Atlantic regimes with respect to slavery and freedom. The French maritime seizure of a British slaving vessel in the Caribbean and the subsequent transfer of enslaved African peoples from British to French to Spanish authority in Cuba set the stage for nearly 40 years of litigation in both hemispheres. The case led to legal disputes in Philadelphia, Madrid, and Havana as members of this Atlantic society sought to confront the most prominent political and social issues of this era. While officials in Philadelphia sought to avoid entanglement in the imperial wars between France and Great Britain, officials in Madrid and Havana competed with each other in order to define the legal identities of a group of Carabalí-Oru peoples onboard the British vessel. For their part, this group of Carabalí-Oru peoples exploited the ambiguities created by a system of Atlantic jurisprudence while relying on their memory of the Middle Passage in order to challenge their unjust enslavement in Cuba.     

La Funcion del Bostezo en la Comunicacion Social de un Grupo de Babuinos

Resumen

La adecuación entre el perfil que ofrecen las mujeres altamente cualificadas que quieren acceder a puestos de dirección y la demanda de las organizaciones de un comportamiento directivo, horizontal y centrado en las personas, alternativo al que impera en la actual cultura empresarial, es el punto de partida del presente estudio. Diversas teorías asocian el estilo directivo transformacional con características prototípicamente femeninas. Este trabajo se plantea dos propósitos. Por un lado, comprobar en una amplia muestra representativa de hombres y mujeres que desempeñan puestos de dirección si existen diferencias en su estilo directivo; y por otro lado, si es así, analizar su correspondencia con los estilos transaccionaly transformational a partir del cuestionario de liderazgo de Bass y Avolio. La interpretación de los resultados demuestra la necesidad de fomentar la incorporación de las mujeres a cargos de dirección, no únicamente por razones humanitarias basadas en la igualdad de derechos y oportunidades, sino por la contribución del estilo directivo femenino a la eficacia organizational.     

Reconocimiento de emociones a partir de descripciones verbales

Resumen

El presente estudio supone una aplicación tentativa de la técnica del autoinforme a la codificación y decodificación de las manifestaciones corporales y expresivas asociadas al comportamiento emocional. El interés en el uso de dicha técnica radica, no tanto en la posibilidad de determinar los cambios reales asociados a la emoción, como de conocer el modo en que los sujetos recuerdan y categorizan su experiencia emocional.     

How Cognitive Interviewing can Provide Validity Evidence of the Response Processes to Scale Items

The current theory about validity reflected in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA et al. in Standards for educational and psychological testing, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 1999), offers no clear indications about the methods for gathering validity evidence about the response processes. Cognitive interviewing (CI) can play an important role answering the current demand about empirical and theoretical analyses of the response processes as a source of validity evidence in psychological testing. CI can provide validity evidence for investigating substantive aspects of construct validity and for contributing to the explanations for item and test scores (Zumbo in Handbook of statistics, vol 26, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 45–79, 2007; The concept of validity: revisions, new directions and applications, IAP—Information Age Publishing Inc., Charlotte, NC, pp. 65–82, 2009). The aim of the study was to illustrate the use of cognitive interviewing method for gathering validity evidence on response processes. The search for evidence about the “response process” was guided by an argument-based approach to validity (Kane in Psychological Bulletin 1992; Educational measurement, American Council on Education/Praeger, Washington, DC, pp. 17–64, 2006). 21 cognitive interviews were carried out during the cognitive testing of the APGAR psychological scale intended to measure the “family support” construct. Cognitive interviewing provided validity evidence that explains how respondents interpret and respond to the APGAR items. Respondents maintained a shared interpretation of “family concept” while answering the APGAR scale items. Nevertheless, they included in the concept of family not only family members they live with but also other family members and even friends. CI participants were also capable of classifying their answers about the family support perception following a polythomous response system. Lastly, the role of CI in the Kane’s argument-based approach and Zumbo’s contextualized view of validity will be discussed.