Conditioning effect of prior reputation on perception of corporate giving

Prior corporate reputation, one responsibility of a public relations department, affects public perceptions toward corporate philanthropic messages and ultimately affects public attitudes toward the company. Using an experiment that emulates the sort of news consumption individuals normally undertake, participants inferred corporate charitable giving as a mutually beneficial activity when a company had a good reputation (H1a). Participants inferred corporate charitable giving as a self-interested activity when the company had a bad reputation (H1b). Also, public inference (suspicion) successfully mediated corporate prior reputation on public attitude toward the company (H2). Participants showed positive attitude toward the company when they inferred the company had an altruistic motive for charitable giving (H3a). However, participants showed negative attitude toward the company when they inferred the company had a self-interested motive for charitable giving (H3b).     

Extended Contact through Story Reading in School: Reducing Children's Prejudice toward the Disabled

The aim of this study was to develop and assess a prejudice-reduction intervention for young children based on a relatively recent psychological concept, extended contact. A number of extended contact interventions were tested based on different models of generalized intergroup contact. A 3 (type of extended contact: neutral, decategorization, and "intergroup") × 2 (time of interview: pre- vs. post-extended contacts) mixed design was used, with the latter variable being within participants. Non-disabled children ( N = 67) aged 5–10 years took part in a 6-week intervention involving reading stories featuring disabled and non-disabled children in friendship contexts. The main dependent variables were children's attitudes and intended behavior toward non-disabled and disabled people. Results showed that extended contact led to increased positivity toward the disabled, and this was most pronounced in the intergroup-extended contact condition. These findings suggest that extended contact can provide a prejudice-reduction intervention tool that can be used with young children in contexts in which the opportunity for direct contact is low. The findings also add to the psychological literature, providing support of the Hewstone and Brown (1986) "intergroup" model in the context of extended contact.     

Asymptotic relative efficiency of wald tests in measurement error models

In this paper, asymptotic relative efficiency (ARE) of Wald tests for the Tweedie class of models with log-linear mean, is considered when the aux¬iliary variable is measured with error. Wald test statistics based on the naive maximum likelihood estimator and on a consistent estimator which is obtained by using Nakarnura's (1990) corrected score function approach are defined. As shown analytically, the Wald statistics based on the naive and corrected score function estimators are asymptotically equivalents in terms of ARE. On the other hand, the asymptotic relative efficiency of the naive and corrected Wald statistic with respect to the Wald statistic based on the true covariate equals to the square of the correlation between the unobserved and the observed co-variate. A small scale numerical Monte Carlo study and an example illustrate the small sample size situation.     

Exploring the relationship between product-service system and profitability

Journal of Management and Governance - Over the last few decades there has been a significant change in the economic output worldwide, and services have become more and more important....     

Bayesian Conditional Mean Estimation in Log‐Normal Linear Regression Models with Finite Quadratic Expected Loss

Log‐normal linear regression models are popular in many fields of research. Bayesian estimation of the conditional mean of the dependent variable is problematic as many choices of the prior for the variance (on the log‐scale) lead to posterior distributions with no finite moments. We propose a generalized inverse Gaussian prior for this variance and derive the conditions on the prior parameters that yield posterior distributions of the conditional mean of the dependent variable with finite moments up to a pre‐specified order. The conditions depend on one of the three parameters of the suggested prior; the other two have an influence on inferences for small and medium sample sizes. A second goal of this paper is to discuss how to choose these parameters according to different criteria including the optimization of frequentist properties of posterior means.     

Hospital-to-community transitions. A bridge program for adolescent mental health patients

Making the transition from the hospital to a community setting can be extremely challenging for patients with acute mental health conditions. Transitional services have been created to help patients overcome difficulties associated with this transition. Nurses frequently play an integral role in the success of these services. By providing patients with individualized support during such transitions, nurses act as clinical liaisons and directly contribute to an increase in positive patient and system-level outcomes. This article describes a transitional service called the Bridge Program, designed to help adolescents make a successful transition from the hospital to the community. An overview of the Bridge Program is provided, and the results of an evaluation of this program are presented. Results suggest that the Bridge Program contributes to a decrease in the length of hospital stays and improves continuity of care for patients and their families.     

A systematic literature review of the etiology of borderline personality disorder from an ecological systems PERSPECTIVE

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most common, complex, costly, and severely impairing personality disorders, affecting an estimated 2% to 9% of the general population and 40% to 44% of the inpatient psychiatric population. A review of the literature was conducted using a systematic methodology. By incorporating an ecological systems perspective, a holistic and comprehensive critique of the literature surrounding the etiology of BPD is presented. The findings reveal that the etiology of BPD is a complex integration of psychological, biological, and social factors. More specifically, however, this review found that: (1) the etiology of BPD is complex and has many factors, (2) the dominant discourse about the etiology of BPD is based primarily in the psychological and biological literature, and (3) the examination of BPD etiology has focused solely on the individual and microsystems levels, neglecting to consider systemic factors such as the impact of discriminatory health and mental healthcare practices. Findings and future directions are explored through the ecological systems theory lens.     

Trajectories of Interracial Heterosexual Couples: A Longitudinal Analysis of Relationship Quality and Separation

Minimal research has examined interracial couples’ relationship satisfaction and dissolution patterns over time. Using dyadic data across 8 years, we examined potential differences in relationship quality trajectories through latent growth curve modeling with 1,336 couples as well as differential risks for relationship dissolution through logistic regression between same‐race and interracial relationships using a different subset of 2,370 couples. Results indicated that women in interracial relationships were significantly lower in initial relationship quality than women in same‐race relationships. Further, interracial couples of Black‐Hispanic partnerings were twice as likely to separate across 8 years than same‐race couples. These results suggest that despite interracial relationships not substantively differing from same‐race couples in trajectories of relationship quality, specific Black‐Hispanic interracial couples are at a higher risk of eventual separation.     

Do Reports of Age and Circumstances of First Intercourse Differ in a Birth Cohort When Asked Seventeen Years Apart?

Conclusions about temporal changes in age and circumstances of first intercourse are generally derived from retrospective reports by people of various ages in cross-sectional studies, with an inherent assumption of no bias stemming from time since the event. We examined this assumption through repeated questions on age and circumstances of first heterosexual intercourse (FHI) at ages 21 and 38 in a birth cohort. Despite considerable movement in individual reports, there was no bias in reported age of FHI. However, a greater proportion of both men and women stated at the later assessment both partners had been equally willing (versus persuading or persuaded). The distribution of current views of the appropriateness of the timing did not differ markedly between assessments, although there were many individual changes. Reports of contraceptive usage were similar at the two assessments for men but differed among women, mainly through more reporting that they could not remember. These findings imply that among cohorts born in the 1970s, there is no bias in reports of age of FHI many years after the event, and views on the appropriateness of timing persist. However, time biases reports in favor of a more mutual willingness.     

A consortium approach for child and family practice education

Child and family practice and child protection are extraordinarily complex. They require in-depth understanding of intra- and inter-personal skills and intricate service systems, and capacity to operate in a constantly changing policy environment. One way of meeting the needs of such practitioners is facilitating their access to experts working across direct practice, management and leadership and policy-making contexts. This article discusses the rationale for collaboratively delivered post-qualifying courses for child and family practitioners, and discusses a highly successful example of such courses delivered through La Trobe University. It outlines the unique developmental process and model of delivery adopted by the consortium responsible for the postgraduate programme. It concludes with reference to early evaluative findings indicating it as a promising pedagogical model.