If You Want People to Listen to You,Tell a Story

We hypothesized that (a) when people share a meaningful story, as opposed to when they share information, they make their partner listen well, and (b) that narrative-induced listening is positively associated with speakers’ psychological safety and negatively associated with their social anxiety. In Study 1 (N = 45), we showed that a meaningful story is perceived much more as a narrative and higher in narrative quality than two types of informational-discourses (telling about daily routine and describing buildings). In Study 2 (N = 52), we randomly asked participants to either share a meaningful story or tell about their daily routine. The participants sharing a meaningful story reported that their interlocutor was a better listener, d = 0.61, 95% CI |0.32, 0.92|. In Study 3 (N = 42), we compared the effect of sharing a meaningful story to describing buildings, and replicated the results of Study 2, d = 1.10, 95% CI |0.61, 1.59|. Moreover, we found that the perceived listening, which was induced by the narrative, mediated the manipulation effects on psychological safety, and social anxiety. Thus, we concluded that when speakers share meaningful stories they make their partner listen well and consequently experience higher psychological safety and lower feelings of social anxiety.     

Girl adoption in China—A less-known side of son preference

In 1987, 4 per cent of girls were adopted within China. Why? Unlike infanticide, abandonment rids parents of daughters while preserving the supply of potential brides. In fact, an erstwhile tradition common in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces had parents of sons adopting an infant girl to serve as a future daughter-in-law and household help. Analysing a nationally representative 1992 survey of children, we found that: (1) girl adoptions were concentrated in the above-mentioned provinces; (2) girls were predominantly adopted by families with sons; (3) adopted girls faced substantial disadvantage as measured by school attendance at ages 8–13. In the 1990s, as the sex ratio at birth climbed, were girls aborted rather than abandoned? Observing that in the 2000 census too many girls appear in families with older sons, we estimated that at least 1/25 girls were abandoned in the 1990s, a proportion that in Fujian and Jiangxi may have peaked at 1/10 in 1994.     

The Role of Active Listening in Teacher–Parent Relations and the Moderating Role of Attachment Style

This study tested the perceived effectiveness of “Listening-Ask questions-Focus on the issue–Find a first step” method (McNaughton et al., 2008) in a parent–teacher conversation using a scenario study (N?=?208). As expected, a scenario based on this method compared with a scenario of a conversation omitting the four steps of the method was perceived both by teachers and parents as more effective (d?=?1.43). Moreover, it was hypothesized that the effectiveness of this listening method would be found largely among secure participants. Indeed, the findings suggested that anxious people were less sensitive to the manipulation. Research hypotheses regarding avoidant attachment style were not supported, suggesting that more research is needed to better understand the moderating role of attachment style.     

The fate of Belarusian and Yiddish in the Soviet and Post‐Soviet periods

A New ‘Tsar Liberator'?. Seweryn Bialer, Politics, Society, and Nationality Inside Gorbachev's Russia. Boulder and London: Westview Press, 1989. xv +241pp. Bibl. Index.

Michael Rywkin, Soviet Society Today. New York and London: M. E. Sharpe, 1989. xii +234pp. Bibl. Index.

Glasnost on Latvian Jewry. Literatūra un Māksla (Literature and Art), no. 48 (2294), Riga, November 1988.

Openness or Concealment?. Raymond Hutchings. Soviet Secrecy and Non‐Secrecy. London: Mac‐millan Press, 1987. 292pp. Bibl. Index. £29.50.

The Making of Czech Jewry. Hillel J. Kieval. The Making of Czech Jewry: National Conflict and Jewish Society in Bohemia 1870–1918. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. x + 279pp. Notes. Bibl. Index. $25.00.     

R&D project evaluation: An integrated DEA and balanced scorecard approach

We present and demonstrate a multi-criteria approach for evaluating R&D projects in different stages of their life cycle. Our approach integrates the balanced scorecard (BSC) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) and develops an extended DEA model. The input and output measures for the integrated DEA–BSC model are grouped in “cards” which are associated with a “BSC for R&D projects”. The BSC is embedded in the DEA model through a hierarchical structure of constraints that reflect the BSC balance considerations. We illustrate the proposed approach with a case study involving an industrial research laboratory that selects and executes dozens of R&D projects every year.     

Estimating a Dynamic Model of Sex Selection in China

High ratios of males to females in China, which have historically concerned researchers (Sen 1990), have increased in the wake of China’s one-child policy, which began in 1979. Chinese policymakers are currently attempting to correct the imbalance in the sex ratio through initiatives that provide financial compensation to parents with daughters. Other scholars have advocated a relaxation of the one-child policy to allow more parents to have a son without engaging in sex selection. In this article, I present a model of fertility choice when parents have access to a sex-selection technology and face a mandated fertility limit. By exploiting variation in fines levied in China for unsanctioned births, I estimate the relative price of a son and daughter for mothers observed in China’s census data (1982–2000). I find that a couple’s first son is worth 1.42 years of income more than a first daughter, and the premium is highest among less-educated mothers and families engaged in agriculture. Simulations indicate that a subsidy of 1 year of income to families without a son would reduce the number of “missing girls” by 67% but impose an annual cost of 1.8% of Chinese gross domestic product (GDP). Alternatively, a three-child policy would reduce the number of “missing girls” by 56% but increase the fertility rate by 35%.     

Assembly Line Balancing with Resource Dependent Task Times*

Paced assembly lines are widely used in repetitive manufacturing applications. Most previous research on the design of paced lines has assumed that each task along the line can be performed by only one worker (or a fixed number of workers). In many cases, however, task duration times may be reduced by increasing the number of workers or changing the equipment assigned to work stations. Thus, the problem becomes one of assigning resource alternatives (e.g., workers and/or equipment) and tasks to work stations to minimize total cost for a desired production rate. For this problem, we present three procedures. The first formulates the problem as a shortest path problem and guarantees optimality. The second and third are heuristic adaptations of the shortest path procedure that are capable of solving large problems. The procedures are compared in terms of solution quality and computation time on a set of 128 randomly generated problems for which optimal solutions could be found. Our simulation results indicate that the choice of procedure depends on problem complexity and resource costs.     

Preference reversals and the analysis of income distributions

It is known from the literature on uncertainty that in cases where individuals express a preference for a high win-probability bet over a bet with high winnings they nevertheless will bid more to obtain the bet with high winnings. We investigate whether a similar phenomenon applies in the parallel social-choice situation. Here decisions are to be made between a distribution with a large group of high-income people and a distribution with a small group of very high-income people. Results from a number of experimental designs are analysed. We are grateful for helpful comments from three referees of this journal, Peter Dolton, Graham Loomes, Dirk Van der gaer and seminar participants at the LSE and the University of Gent. We also thank Guillermo Cruces for computational assistance.     

Public relations for peripheral places and their national media coverage patterns: The Israeli case

One of the ways to alter the negative image associated with peripheral locations and assist them in constructing a positive image in national media is by directing resources and maintaining a professional, skilled PR system. This article focuses on the relation between PR and coverage patterns in the press, and examines whether media coverage of locations with similar characteristics is influenced by the systematic use of PR. Israel provides a unique opportunity to examine this relation, due to the existence of three towns with extremely similar characteristics that during the time of this study differed only in their use of PR. Examining the relation between the use of PR and media coverage was accomplished using a variety of research methods, including quantitative and qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews.