bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Newcomer Information Seeking: Individual and Contextual Influences
Authors: Major Debra A. , Kozlowski Steve W.J.
Published: March 2003

This study examined situational and individual influences on the proactive information seeking of newcomers. Task interdependence was expected to be positively related to information seeking, given that it links newcomers to organizational insiders. Newcomers' work related self‐efficacy and the physical accessibility of organizational insiders were both predicted to moderate the relationship between task interdependence and information seeking. Usable surveys were completed by 421 co‐op students (295 males and 126 females) who had been participating in career‐relevant internships for approximately 4.5 weeks. All students were enrolled in an educational programme that rotates students between twelve weeks in class and twelve weeks on internship over a period of five years. Controlling for the number of previous internships and size of work group, results supported the joint moderating effect, with newcomers low on self‐efficacy exhibiting greater information seeking when task interdependence and accessibility were high. Applied implications of the results and directions for future research on proactive information seeking and socialization are discussed.
Expanding the Nexus of Cognitive and Psychomotor Abilities
Authors: Carretta Thomas R. , Ree Malcolm James
Published: March 2003

A study was conducted to expand the nexus of cognitive and psychomotor abilities. A cognitive aptitude battery and a psychomotor battery were administered to 429 military recruits. A confirmatory factor analysis yielded higher‐order factors of general cognitive ability (g) and psychomotor/technical knowledge (PM/TK). PM/TK was interpreted as Vernon's (1969) practical factor (k:m). In the joint analysis of these batteries, g and PM/TK each accounted for about 31% of the common variance. No residualized lower‐order factor accounted for more than 7% PM/TK influenced a broad range of lower‐order psychomotor factors. The first practical implication of these findings is that psychomotor tests are expected to be at least generally interchangeable. A second implication is that the incremental validity of psychomotor tests beyond cognitive tests is expected to be small. These findings should help guide test developers and inform personnel selecting agencies regarding the expected utility of psychomotor tests.
Assessing Leadership Potential with a Biographical Measure of Personality Traits
Authors: Stricker Lawrence J. , Rock Donald A.
Published: March 2003

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of biographical inventories free of the limitations common to many current biographical measures by constructing and validating an inventory composed of homogeneous scales, with item content that is factual and fair, to assess personality traits predictive of leadership. The experimental inventory, with tentative scales for Dominance, Emotional Stability, Need for Achievement, Self‐Confidence, and Sociability, was administered to incoming midshipmen at the US Naval Academy and item analyzed. The validity of the final scales was appraised against subsequent peer ratings of the traits and of leadership shortly after entering the Academy; military performance grades, and midshipman rank and leadership position at the Academy; and recommendations for promotion after graduating and serving as an officer. The Sociability, Dominance, and Need for Achievement scales demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity, and all of the scales except Self‐Confidence correlated with the leadership criteria. The Sociability scale’s consistent correlations with several of the leadership criteria, including a nontrivial correlation (r = 0.28) with the leadership peer rating, implies that this measure may be useful in assessing leadership potential.
Future‐Oriented Job Analysis: A Description of the Process and Its Organizational Implications
Authors: Landis Ronald S. , Fogli Lawrence , Goldberg Edie
Published: March 2003

An application of a future‐oriented job analysis (FOJA) procedure used to gain an understanding of newly formed entry‐level positions in a large insurance organization is described. A brief review of the relevant literature is presented to serve as a foundation upon which to consider the current FOJA procedure. Specific assumptions, stages, and results of the current procedure are detailed. The benefits of this application of FOJA are also discussed.
An Evaluation of the Validity and Fairness of the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) Used for MBA Selection in a UK Business School
Authors: Dobson Paul , Krapljan‐Barr Pavica , Vielba Carol
Published: March 2003

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has been shown to be a valid predictor of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) performance in the USA, but no UK validity studies have been published. This study uses a large sample of UK MBA students to examine the validity and fairness of GMAT. It is found that GMAT‐Verbal is a good predictor of MBA examination performance but GMAT‐Quantitative is not. It is also found that both components are unfair to native English speakers. The reasons for these findings are to be found in the nature of the criterion employed. Some observations are made regarding the consequences for best practice of the competitive and political context of MBA selection.
Does the Learning Styles Questionnaire Measure Style or Process? A Reply to Swailes and Senior (1999)
Authors: Sadler‐Smith Eugene
Published: March 2003

Swailes and Senior’s (1999) examination of the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ) raised a number of questions regarding the instrument’s construct validity and the relationship between learning style and learning process. Swailes and Senior argued that there may be three learning styles as opposed to the four posited by Honey and Mumford (1986), however, they did not include a three‐factor model in their confirmatory factor analysis and hence it is unclear if a three‐factor solution represents an improvement on a four‐factor solution. Furthermore, the present study draws a distinction between style and process and an argument is presented which contends that the three‐factor and four‐factor solutions represent process models, as opposed to the style models embodied in Kolb’s theory. This reply attempts to examine two‐ three‐ and four‐factor solutions for the LSQ. The evidence appears to favour the conventional four‐factor model, which may indicate that the LSQ measures individuals’ preferences for each of four stages of an experiential learning process and raises the question of its relationship with style per se.
Solidarity put to the test. Health and social care in the UK
Authors: Johnson M. , Cullen L.
Published: March 2003

As welfare states experience challenges from ideological and funding sources, the position of the United Kingdom represents an important case study. Apparently under severe attack for its perceived failures to deliver efficiency, effectiveness and social justice, there remains a continued high level of public support for `nationalised' health and social care. The paper explores the nature of the fissures in the systems and the data which indicates enduring solidarity.
Can we remember differently? A case study of the new culture of memory in voluntary organisations
Authors: Možina Miran
Published: March 2003

This article analyses the positive contribution that Slovenian voluntary, non–governmental organisations, users’ organisations and community–based services in the field of mental health have made to the ‘new culture of memory’ of helpers and users. The conceptual differences between Slovenian psychiatric (institutional) treatment and voluntary community care are presented through the case study of Clare, a young woman who was diagnosed as a chronic schizophrenic. This example shows the importance of community care in voluntary organisations for the reduction of disability associated with mental disorders. The development of the new culture of memory in voluntary organisations and community–based services is not only the ‘narrative turn’ within social welfare, but also symbolises the ‘implicit turn’ in the relationship between the helper and the user. The real challenge of the new culture of memory in the process of help to disabled people (in respect of individuals working through traumatic memories) is that the helper can bear and support the user on a daily basis. During the process of their relationship, the deep implicit relational memories of both become activated and influence the change within the user as well as the helper.
The Evaluation and Enhancement of Training Transfer
Authors: Olsen, Jr. James H.
Published: March 2003

The transfer component of training evaluation was examined in a study conducted in 1996. ‘Transfer’ is the evidence that what was learned is actually being used on the job for which it was intended. The study, through a survey technique, examined what organisations are doing to evaluate the transfer of training (as described by the Kirkpatrick taxonomy of the four levels of training evaluation). In addition, training and support strategies which are judged to be the most effective in enhancing transfer were identified.
The Institutional Requirements Of Apprenticeship: Evidence From Smaller EU Countries
Authors: Ryan Paul
Published: March 2003

To what extent does the experience of other European econom‐ies in which apprenticeship has proved successful suggest scope for reviving apprenticeship in the UK without requiring institutional regulation along German lines? The institutional attributes of apprenticeship in four smaller European economies (Austria, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands) are shown to be closer to Germany’s social partnership than to the UK’s deregulated market, in terms of: statutory governance; formal educational requirements; administration at sec‐toral and local levels through social partnership; and funding based upon a clear separation of responsibilities between government and employers, though not between employers and apprentices. At the same time, the introduction of statu‐tory apprenticeship into Irish industry in recent years, in an institutional environment that has traditionally had much in common with that of the UK, suggests that the scope for institutional development in support of apprenticeship has been obscured by the widespread tendency to limit the choice of international comparisons to the Anglo‐Germanic.
International briefing 9: Training and development in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Wilkins Stephen
Published: March 2003

This article explores the training and development strategies and practices of large business organisations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The survey reveals that Emirati companies are very aware of best training and development practice as implemented in their foreign counterparts, and that they generally adopt similar methods and strategies. The article considers the influence of national culture, religion, government policies, education and the economic environment upon the training and development strategies and practices of companies in the UAE. It is argued that despite the negative effects of a dwindling oil sector, the UAE's companies are well placed to maintain their current regional success and that they will soon be playing an increasingly important role in international trade, thus significantly contributing to the continuing economic growth of the country.
Housing inequality in urban China in the 1990s
Authors: Logan John R. , Bian Yanjie , Bian Fuqin
Published: March 2003

Access to housing of sufficient space and quality has been a central element in social stratification in urban China. We examine the sources of housing inequality in 1993 in Shanghai and Tianjin, when a market reform process had been underway in the national economy for nearly fifteen years. The Chinese housing allocation system favors people with political position and connections, those of higher socio‐economic background, and those whose work units have greater organizational authority. There is only slight evidence that market reform has undermined this stratification order. To the contrary, there are reasons to believe that in some respects inequalities rooted in socialism are strengthened by institutional changes. These conclusions are reinforced by comparison to results of analyses of income inequality in the same cities.

L'accès aux logements suffisamment spacieux et de bonne qualité est un élément central de la stratification sociale en Chine urbaine. Nous examinons les origines de l'inégalité du logement en 1993 à Shangai?? et Tianjin alors qu'un processus de réforme du marché dans l'économie nationale est en cours depuis presque quinze ans. Le système d'allocation de logements favorise les personnes qui ont une position et des contacts politiques, les personnes d'un milieu socio‐économique élevé et celles des unités de travail qui ont une plus grande autorité d'organisation. Il y a peu de preuves que les réformes du marché aient ébranlé cette stratification. Au contraire, il y a des raisons de penser que certaines inégalités dont l'origine remonte au socialisme sont fortifiés par les changements institutionnels. Ces conclusions sont renforcées par la comparaison des résultats des analyses des inégalités des revenus dans les mêmes villes.
Mixed Embeddedness: (In)formal Economic Activities and Immigrant Businesses in the Netherlands
Authors: Kloosterman Robert , Van Der Leun Joanne , Rath Jan
Published: March 2003

Immigrants from non‐industrialized countries have become part and parcel of the social fabric of many advanced urban economies, including those in the Netherlands. A significant number of these migrants opt for setting up shop themselves. Lacking access to large financial resources and mostly lacking in educational qualifications, they are funnelled towards the lower end of the opportunity structure of these urban economies. To survive in these cut‐throat markets, many migrant entrepreneurs revert to informal economic activities that are strongly dependent on specific social networks – mostly consisting of co‐ethnics – to sustain these activities on a more permanent basis. To understand the social position of these migrant entrepreneurs and their chances of upward social mobility, one has to look beyond these co‐ethnic networks and focus on their insertion in the wider society in terms of customers, suppliers and various kinds of business organizations. To deal with this latter type of insertion, we propose the use of a more comprehensive concept of mixed embeddedness that aims at incorporating both the co‐ethnic social networks as well as the linkages (or lack of linkages) between migrant entrepreneurs and the economic and institutional context of the host society. We illustrate this concept by presenting a case study of Islamic butchers in the Netherlands.

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Les immigrants des pays pas industrialisés sont devenus une part intégrale du tissu social de nombreuses économies urbaines développées, y compris celles des Pays‐Bas. Un nombre significatif de migrants choisissent de s’établir à leur compte. N’ayant pas accès à des ressources financières importantes et ayant peu de qualifications académiques, ils sont entraînés vers le bas des structures de débouchés de ces économies. Pour survivre dans ces économies très dures, beaucoup d’entrepreneurs immigrants retournent aux activités économiques informelles qui dépendent fortement des réseaux sociaux spécifiques – principalement co‐ethniques – pour soutenir ces activités de façon plus permanente. Afin de comprendre la position sociale de ces migrants entrepreneurs et leurs possibilités de mobilité sociale vers le haut, il faut regarder plus loin que ces réseaux co‐ethniques et explorer leur insertion dans la société en général par rapport aux clients, fournisseurs et divers types d’organisation commerciales. Pour traiter de ce type d’insertion, nous proposons d’utiliser un concept d’incorporation mélangée plus compréhensif qui a pour but d’intégrer à la fois les réseaux sociaux co‐ethniques et les liens (ou manque de liens) entre les migrants entrepreneurs et le contexte économique et institutionnel de la société d’acceuil. Nous illustrons ce concept par un cas d’étude de bouchers islamiques aux Pays‐Bas.
Social and Spatial Implications of Housing Reform in China
Authors: Wang Ya Ping , Murie Alan
Published: March 2003

Research into eastern European housing reform indicates that privatization has been accompanied by processes of social and physical exclusion and segregation. Has the Chinese housing reform been accompanied by similar problems? This paper addresses this question by examining the early evidence on the social and spatial consequences of housing reform. It begins with a discussion of the particular social and spatial patterns of Chinese cities developed during the early years of Communist control and then examines the social and spatial impacts of housing reform. It is argued that although housing reform has brought significant changes to the housing provision system and improved many urban residents' living conditions, it has not entirely broken the traditional system. Reform was to a large extent carried out within work‐unit establishments and has had very different impacts for different social and economic groups. In addition, spatial impacts in urban areas have varied between old and new areas and between rich and poor areas.

La recherche sur les réformes du logement en Europe de l'est montre que la privatisation a été accompagnée de processus d'exclusion et de ségrégation physique et sociale. La réforme chinoise du logement a‐t‐elle été accompagnée de problèmes identiques? Cet article examine les premières données sur les conséquences sociales et spatiales de la réforme du logement. Il commence par une discussion des modèles sociaux et spatiaux particuliers aux villes chinoises développés durant les premières années du contrôle communiste et examine ensuite l'impact social et spatial de la réforme du logement. Bien que la réforme du logement ait apporté des changements significatifs au système de provision du logement et amélioré les conditions de vie de nombreux résidents urbains, elle n'a pas entièrement rompu avec le système traditionnel. La réforme a été en grande partie conduite à l'intérieur des établissements d'unités de travail et a eu un impact très différent sur les divers groupes sociaux et économiques. De plus, les impacts spatiaux dans les régions urbaines ont varié selon que les régions sont anciennes ou nouvelles et riches ou pauvres.
Migrant Remittances in Greece and Portugal: Distribution by Country of Provenance and the Role of the Banking Presence
Authors: Karafolas Simeon
Published: March 2003

The article examines migrant remittances per country of origin of remittances for two emigration countries, Greece and Portugal. It also examines the relationship between remittances and the number of banks of the emigration country in the host country.

From the analysis it appears that remittances are concentrated in a small number of host countries – the US and Germany for the Greek case; France (mainly) and the US, Germany and Switzerland for the Portuguese case.

Remittances followed similar trends, characterized by especially high growth during the 1970s and also during the second half of the 1980s. For both countries similar trends are observed regarding the relationship between remittances and remittances per migrant with the presence of banks of the home country at the important countries of origin of remittances.

The growth of the banking presence in host countries had a significant impact on the growth of migrant remittances. However, remittances and migrant population are neither the unique nor main reason for banking expansion abroad. The common European financial and banking market is expected to play a major role in the banking presence abroad, particularly in European Union countries.
Asylum Policies, Trafficking and Vulnerability
Authors: Koser Khalid
Published: March 2003

This article is located at the intersection of three recent debates on asylum in Europe: the efficacy of asylum policies; the trafficking of asylum seekers, and their growing vulnerability. Most commentators agree that there are relationships between these three debates, but the nature of those relationships remain unclear. Yet the need properly to understand the nature of these links has become especially pressing in the context of a raft of new policy initiatives on both asylum and trafficking, and concerns for their consequences for asylum seekers. At least part of the reason for this lack of clear understanding is significant gaps in empirical research. This article begins to fill some of these gaps, and in so doing to unpick some of the relationships between asylum policies, trafficking and vulnerability. It focuses on the experiences of asylum seekers in Europe, thus presenting a “bottom up" perspective on trafficking and asylum policies. The findings are derived from research among Iranian asylum seekers in the Netherlands, conducted between 1994 and 1996. The article discusses some of the reservations that surround this approach, including methodological issues such as trust, and the difficulties of applying more widely a narrow case study. Within the context of these reservations, it draws three main conclusions. First, empirical evidence to support the view that increasing proportions of asylum seekers are being forced to turn to traffickers in order to negotiate restrictive asylum policies. Second, the ways in which trafficking is exposing asylum seekers – including at least some “genuine" refugees – to new forms of vulnerability. Third, that direct links exist between asylum policies, trafficking and vulnerability, and that the blame for growing vulnerability lies more with asylum policies than with traffickers or with asylum seekers themselves. Finally, these empirical conclusions are targeted on a series of policy implications.
Informal but Effective: Regional Consultative Processes as a Tool in Managing Migration
Authors: Von Koppenfels Amanda Klekowski
Published: March 2003

During the 1990s, the number of regional consultative processes focusing on migration increased significantly. These non‐binding fora brought together representatives of States, civil society and international organizations at the regional level to discuss migration‐related issues in a cooperative manner.

Regional consultative processes, which are increasingly supported by governments, are partly a response to the growing complexity and diversity of international migration. Their emergence attests the importance that governments attach to a regional approach to migration management.

Regional processes act informally, focusing on cooperative dialogue with an emphasis on information exchange and technical cooperation. The information exchange and confidence‐building that occurs in regional processes is quite important in terms of developing links between States and influencing the likelihood of future bilateral and multilateral agreements.

This article focuses upon the development of regional processes, using examples as illustrations. It suggests that the development of regional processes can be understood in terms of a four‐stage model: first, the decision to address issues of concern in a cooperative regional forum; second, to agree upon a “common language”; third, to agree upon a list of goals and, fourth, a shift toward a more operational process.
Youth Transitions and Employment in Germany
Authors: Heinz Walter R.
Published: March 2003

In the 1990s, the timing and duration of youth transitions has become variable because of cultural modernisation and the declining stability of careers. In particular, the German ‘dual system’ of Vocational Education and Training (VET) has come under pressure of globalisation and labour market deregulation. Despite economic turbulence, the main features of the VET have been maintained. The apprenticeship route is still highly accepted‐two‐thirds of the cohort of school‐leavers are passing through it. It continues to provide standardised occupational qualifications and a context for socialisation. It supplies a skilled labour force and keeps youth unemployment low‐despite shortcomings in standards of social equality and a slow pace in adapting to changes in technology and work. For the future, the ‘left modernisers’ strategy of upgrading skills remains possible, by reforming the apprenticeship system and main‐taining the ’high‐skills‘ route for transition from education to work. In transition studies structural analysis should be combined with research on institutional regulations, transition pathways, and individual agency.
Federalism and immigration: models and trends
Authors: Spiro Peter J.
Published: March 2003

Although immigration policy has traditionally been considered a realm of exclusive central government authority, recent trends evidence a greater role for federal units in the area. This article summarises and evaluates those trends as they relate to immigrant rights, immigration enforcement, and immigration benefits under three basic models of federal governance: central government hegemony, cooperative federalism, and devolutionary federalism. The article concludes that affording increased discretion to subnational authorities over immigrant and immigration policy will ultimately work to the net benefit of immigrants, and that even while complete devolution remains impracticable cooperative federalism has emerged a desirable approach in the area.
The Eastern Amazon Basin and the Coca–Cocaine Complex
Authors: Machado Lia Osorio
Published: March 2003

This article considers some of the interactions between the illicit drug trade and the use of we explain this boom in drug activities after territory in the Amazon basin, especially in its eastern section, which belongs to Brazil. Despite the similarities of the settlement process in the western and eastern sections of the basin, differences can be found between them that are relevant to the linkage with international drug trafficking networks. Analysis of some of the territorial and economic effects brought about by changes in the mode of organisation of the coca‐cocaine complex suggests that criminal activities, although sensitive and adaptable to the local environment, tend to encourage the worst of legitimate social and economic practices, becoming a parasite of parasites.
The Socio‐Cultural Context of Drug Use and Implications for Drug Policy
Authors: Charles Molly , Britto Gabriel
Published: March 2003

Cultural diversity in India has nurtured the use of mind‐altering substances over centuries, with‐out causing any great alarm about drug abuse. This paper, using research conducted by the authors and other secondary data, attempts to present socio‐cultural‐religious, functional patterns of drug use in the country and examines some of the factors responsible for the drastic changes that have occurred since the 1980s. Specifically, it points out that the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, took the responsibility of drug abuse control away from the community to the near‐defunct legal establishment; that by criminalising socio‐religious‐cultural‐recreational use of opium and cannabis, it has promoted the pro‐liferation of alcohol, heroin, and other moreharmful pharmaceutical drugs; that it has given a new lease of life to organised crime syndicates; and that denial of access to low cost, accessible health care at the hands of traditional healers is an unintended consequence needing immediate rectification. It makes certain policy recommendations to the UN bodies, their member states and to policy makers in India in particular.
Extreme violence and the scholarly community
Authors: Bartov Omer
Published: March 2003

This article explores the relationship between extreme violence and scholarship. I begin by arguing that the scholarly profession has been complicit in preparing the mindset, providing the rationale, and supplying the know‐how and personnel for the perpetration of state‐directed mass violence. Hence, I assert, scholarship cannot analyse and explicate modern extreme violence without revising its own paradigms of research and interpretation. I go on to stipulate the need to understand the mechanisms that motivate individual scholars to take part in, or to resist, atrocity. This understanding may facilitate modifications in training with an eye to promoting greater resistance to state‐sanctioned crimes. Conversely, I note that the personal experience of individual scholars researching extreme violence has an inevitable effect on their work. I ask whether scholars who were subjected, or subjected others, to extreme violence, have a greater understanding of, and insight into, the phenomenon or are biased to an extent that invalidates their findings? Consequently, I argue, the very notion of objective analysis is undermined when confronting events in which the norms and conventions of ordinary existence are shattered. I conclude with some reflections on the reactions of the scholarly community to international terrorism.
A Global Ranking of National Social Security Systems
Authors: Dixon John
Published: March 2003

There has been a very evident growth in descriptive and analytical comparative social security research over the past 40 years, but only Kaim‐Caudle has taken up the epistemological and methodological challenges of thecomparative evaluation of social security systems. The purpose of this paper is to rank social security systems in 172 countries using a comparative evaluation methodology that enables an assessment to be made of a country’s statutory social security intention. The conclusion drawn is that while seven of the ten best designed social security systems in the world can be found in western Europe, Australia has the best‐designed one.
Japan’s never–ending social security reforms
Authors: Takayama Noriyuki
Published: March 2003

This paper examines implications of the 2002 population projections for future trends in pension and healthcare costs in Japan. Current redistributive pension and healthcare programmes have resulted in considerably higher per capita income for the aged than the non–aged population. Substantive reforms are needed to lessen the extent of such redistribution, but political considerations have meant that only incremental reforms have been feasible. A start, however, has been made on introducing private initiatives in pensions; and shifting from the command and control model operated by the central government to a contracting model for healthcare.
Healthcare financing reform and the new single payer system in the Republic of Korea: Social solidarity or efficiency?
Authors: Kwon Soonman
Published: March 2003

In July 2000, national health insurance in the Republic of Korea was transformed into a single insurer system. This major reform in healthcare financing resulted from the merger of more than 350 health insurance societies. Inequity in healthcare financing and the chronic financial situation of the health insurance societies for self–employed workers in rural areas have been the driving forces leading to the unified health insurance system. The unique institutional context together with political change opened the window of policy change, and various stakeholders such as politicians, rural self–employed workers, trade unions and civic groups were involved in the healthcare reform process. Fair income assessment of the self–employed and the role of the single insurer as a prudent purchaser of medical care will be vital for the new system to achieve its intended goal and improve social solidarity and efficiency of healthcare.
Structural reform of social security pensions in Latin America: Models, characteristics, results and conclusions
Authors: Mesa‐Lago Carmelo
Published: March 2003

The structural reform of social security pensions is the subject of international debate, and Latin America has been a pioneer of such reform. The region has gathered experience over two decades, and had an important influence on other regions. This article gathers legal and statistical data about reform in ten countries of Latin America, in order (1) to analyse the three distinct general models followed and note the characteristics of the reforms in the different countries; (2) to evaluate the performance of the reforms against nine conventional assumptions about its effects; (3) to draw useful lessons from these reforms for the region and other countries.
Color‐specific filtering of rival binocular inputs induced by priming1
Authors: Ikeda Kazunari , Morotomi Takashi
Published: March 2003

Abstract:  In a situation where the two eyes separately receive two dissimilar images such as a blue square and a red square, the brain is forced to resolve competitive interpretations of the visual inputs. Earlier studies have indicated that adaptation to one of two rival images can control the following competitive perception. Consistent with those studies, the present experiments revealed that immediately after a brief presentation of a color (priming stimulation) to the two eyes, subjects dominantly perceived the other color out of the chromatic rivalry. This effect showed an interocular transfer even if indirect monocular priming was employed, but the filtering out of a primed color did not occur when an unprimed rival image was removed from the other eye. These facts suggest that binocular feature‐detection processes in the human visual system might be responsible for the priming effect on rival images.
Overcoming cognitive obstacles in learning fractions: Equal‐partitioning and equal‐whole1
Authors: Yoshida Hajime , Sawano Kooji
Published: March 2003

Abstract: The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that acquisition of the concepts of equal‐partitioning and equal‐whole, which constitute implicit knowledge in fractions, promotes understanding of fractions. To test the hypothesis an experimental program based on both the equal‐partitioning and equal‐whole was developed for three third‐grade classrooms in a Japanese elementary school. As a control, conventional teaching based on a Japanese textbook was provided in two third‐grade classrooms. The present study tested the hypothesis that students given such an intervention program would understand order and magnitude as central characteristics of fractions better than those who had been instructed using a traditional textbook. Students in the experimental group showed significantly better understanding of the equal‐partitioning of fractions and the representation of the sizes of fractions than did those in the textbook group. There were, moreover, no differences between the experimental and textbook groups in the performance of routine tasks frequently found in the textbook. These results are discussed in view of the important instructional aims of having students understand fractions.
Consistency Orientation and Models of Social Behavior: Is It Not Time for West to Meet East
Authors: Iwao Sumiko
Published: March 2003

The study examined the cultural differences in inconsistency‐reducing behaviors by testing the reactions of 110 Japanese and 169 American college students to the inconsistencies arising from a difference of opinion with a significant other on ego‐involving issues. It was predicted that (1) the Japanese sample would show more inconsistency support than will an American sample; (2) The American sample will show more preference for active inconsistency‐reducing responses than will the Japanese sample; (3) on the hypothesis that contemporary social psychology's models of humans is based upon the American stereotype of the “typical American,” the first two predictions will be more strongly confirmed by comparing the American subjects' stereotype of the “typical American” than by comparing their own reported choices. The findings generally supported the first two predictions and strongly supported the third one.
Effects of knowledge about cross‐language equivalents on children's use of mutual exclusivity in interpreting novel labels
Authors: Haryu Etsuko
Published: March 2003

Young children seem to assume that words pick out mutually exclusive object categories. This assumption of mutual exclusivity can be useful in word learning, but it is fallible. This study examined the effects of knowledge about cross‐language equivalents on children's use of mutual exclusivity in interpreting a novel label coming from a foreign language and in interpreting a novel label within their first language. It was found that 4‐year‐olds with such knowledge suspended the assumption of mutual exclusivity in interpreting a novel label coming from a foreign language. Furthermore, they were willing to accept multiple labels for an object even within a language, as long as the context suggested that they should do so. In contrast, 3‐year‐olds did not seem to make use of such knowledge in either case. Thus, it appeared that 4‐year‐olds could make use of knowledge about language to fine tune the use of mutual exclusivity, but that this seemed to be difficult for 3‐year‐olds.
Perceived distance of targets in convex mirrors
Authors: Higashiyama Atsuki , Yokoyama Yoshikazu , Shimono Koichi
Published: March 2003

We investigated the perceived distance of targets in convex and plane mirrors. In Experiment 1, 20 subjects matched the distance of targets in a real scene to the distance of a virtual target in different mirrors. The matched distances were much larger for convex mirrors than for a plane mirror. In Experiment 2, 20 subjects viewed two targets in a mirror and adjusted their own positions so that the distance to the closer target was perceived to equal the distance between the targets. The mean distance to the closer target was smaller for the convex mirrors than for the plane mirror. In Experiment 3, 20 subjects adjusted the position of a target so that the distance to it in a mirror was perceived to equal the distance designated by the experimenter. The best‐fitting power functions showed that the scaling factors were larger for the convex mirrors than for the plane mirror, but the exponents were smaller for the convex mirrors than for the plane mirror. It is suggested that distance in the convex mirrors was perceived to be larger than in the plane mirror, and that the growth of perceived distance in the convex mirrors was slower than in the plane mirror.
Why Do Churches Become Empty, While New Age Grows? Secularization and Religious Change in the Netherlands
Authors: Houtman Dick , Mascini Peter
Published: March 2003

Research from the Netherlands has pointed out that the increased popularity of New Age since the 1960s by no means compensates for the dramatic decline of the Christian churches. From a theoretical point of view, however, it is more important to study why those remarkably divergent developments have occurred in the first place. This article does this by analyzing survey data collected among the Dutch population at large in 1998, focusing on a comparison of the young and the elderly. It is concluded, first, that there are no indications that the decline of the Christian tradition has been caused by a process of rationalization. Second, the decline of the Christian tradition and the growth of nonreligiosity as well as New Age are caused by increased levels of moral individualism (individualization). Implications for the sociological analysis of cultural and religious change are discussed.
On the Ontological Status of Ideas
Authors: Bhaskar Roy
Published: March 2003

Four recent turns (realist, processual, holistic and reflexive) in social thought are discussed and related to the four dimensional schema of dialectical realism the author has recently outlined. It is shown how ontology matters, and indeed is not only necessary but inevitable, The nature of the reality of ideas (of different types) is demonstrated and the most prevalent mistakes in the metatheory of ideas and ideation analysed. The significance of categorical realism and the character of those specific types if ideas known as ‘ideologies’ are then discussed. Finally some good and bad dialectical connections of ideas and related phenomena are sketched.
Attributions and Avowals of Motive in the Study of Deviance: Resource or Topic?
Authors: Berard Timothy
Published: March 2003

In explaining human actions, scholars and laypeople alike employ explanatory devices such as ‘motives’. This paper critically reevaluates the relationship between ‘professional’ and ‘lay’ invocations of motive, proposing a general reorientation of theory and research. This reorientation emphasizes the mundane ‘practical grammar’ of motives, and argues that motive deployment is inextricably tied to deviance, and therefore irremediably moral. It is argued, therefore, that motives should serve as a topic for scholarship, not a resourcefor scholarly use. Several landmark theories of motives, deviance, and explanations are critically reviewed from the proposed vantage. Finally, a brief survey of similarly‐minded work is offered, focussing on ethnomethodological arguments and findings, as illustrations of the heuristic power and promise of the outlined approach.
The Influence of Heuristics on Psychological Science: A Case Study of Research on Creativity
Authors: Lubart Todd I. , Getz Isaac
Published: March 2003

Research heuristics—implicit rules used to guide work on a scientific problem—are explored for their role in guiding psychological research. Work on the psychology of creativity is used to illustrate how heuristics have guided research. We examine the influence of three heuristics: the trilogy‐of‐mind heuristic, the emotions‐as‐moods heuristic, and the analysis‐of‐variance heuristic. This analysis of multiple heuristics provides a new way to understand the state of research on creativity. In the discussion, the analysis is extended to other heuristics and to how heuristics may help as well as hinder innovative research.
Making Sense of “Absence”: Towards a Typology of Absence in Social Representations Theory and Research
Authors: Gervais Marie‐Claude , Morant Nicola , Penn Gemma
Published: March 2003

Identifying, locating and interpreting both what is present and what is not present in theory and data lies at the core of scientific practice. Most experienced researchers know that social reality and psychological phenomena cannot always be apprehended directly, and that the forces that shape them must often be inferred rather than positively demonstrated. Yet, the important analytical problems raised by “absence” have rarely occupied the centre stage in professional journals. The aim of this paper is to sensitise researchers to the problem of absence. It considers the various guises in which absences may appear, their repercussions in the research process, and the solutions that researchers have used to render absences visible. The paper focuses on the issue of absence as it appears in theory and research on social representations. A typology of absence, structured in terms of the research process, is proposed. The typology is intended purely as a heuristic tool. It identifies and discusses forms of theoretical, methodological, empirical and analytical/interpretive absences. This typology is used to explore forms of absence and their interrelationships throughout the research process in three studies on social representations. The discussion as a whole contributes to reaffirming the radical character of the theory of social representations by stressing how the latter locates the space of explanation at the interface between individual and collective representations, between social and cognitive processes, between intentional and non‐conscious dynamics, and between material and symbolic realities.
Conceptualizing Religion and Spirituality: Points of Commonality, Points of Departure
Authors: Hill Peter C. , Pargament Kenneth II. , Hood Ralph W. , McCullough Jr., Michael E. , Swyers James P. , Larson David B. , Zinnbauer Brian J.
Published: March 2003

Psychologists' emerging interest in spirituality and religion as well as the relevance of each phenomenon to issues of psychological importance requires an understanding of the fundamental characteristics of each construct. On the basis of both historical considerations and a limited but growing empirical literature, we caution against viewing spirituality and religiousness as incompatible and suggest that the common tendency to polarize the terms simply as individual vs. institutional or ′good′ vs. ′bad′ is not fruitful for future research. Also cautioning against the use of restrictive, narrow definitions or overly broad definitions that can rob either construct of its distinctive characteristics, we propose a set of criteria that recognizes the constructs' conceptual similarities and dissimilarities. Rather than trying to force new and likely unsuccessful definitions, we offer these criteria as benchmarks for judging the value of existing definitions.
Neutrality, Rebirth and Intergenerational Justice
Authors: Mulgan Tim
Published: March 2003

A basic feature of liberal political philosophy is its commitment to religious neut‐rality. Contemporary philosophical discussion of intergenerational justice violates this com‐mitment, as it proceeds on the basis of controversial metaphysical assumptions. The Contractualist notion of a power imbalance between generations and Derek Parfit’s non‐identity claims both presuppose that humans are not reborn. Yet belief in rebirth underlies Hindu and Buddhist traditions espoused by millions throughout the world. These traditions clearly constitute what John Rawls dubs “reasonable comprehensive doctrines”, and therefore cannot be dismissed by political liberals. In many societies, including the USA, the UK, and India, belief in rebirth exists alongside other traditions, as well as modern Western views. A liberal theory for such societies must be impartial regarding rebirth, and the after‐life in general. Two alternatives forms of liberal neutrality are sketched, based on Contractualism and Consequentialism.
Tully and de Soto on Uniformity and Diversity
Authors: Lea David
Published: March 2003

James Tully sees the emergence of modern constitutionalism as the intellectual legacy of writers such as Hobbes, Bodin and Locke. For Tully, modern constitutionalism not only centralizes authority, it also excludes diversity. Tully’s work represents a significant part of the growing antipathy towards uniformity and the universalising tendencies of the modern organization, which, he believes, underwrite a loss of local empowerment. In this respect his thinking and that of the communitarians is consistent with contemporary disenchantment with, not to mention resistance to globalization. Globalization, or the tendency to inter‐national uniformity in culture and increasing integration into a global system of economics and power, appears to promote an analogous universalising conformity across borders, while centralizing economic if not political power and control in certain trans‐national corporations. Hernando de Soto, the Peruvian economist, gives us a very different perspective on the motley of overlapping jurisdictions and argues that diversity of systems, customs and rules with respect to property has conspired to maintain the entrenched poverty of the developing world. He argues that it is the unified, codified and integrated systems of the West that have allowed these societies to mobilize capital to escape the endemic widespread poverty of the pre‐capitalist age. In the course of this paper I seek to compare and evaluate the competing claims of Tully and de Soto.