Antecedents of mentoring support: a meta-analysis of individual,relational, and structural or organizational factors

The value of mentoring is growing substantially as organizations take a renewed interest in employee development to better survive in the dynamic and competitive market today. In the wake of this renewed interest, this meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively review the multi-level antecedents (e.g., individual, relational, and structural/organizational) of different kinds of mentoring support (e.g., career, psychosocial, role modeling) in organizational settings and to revisit the theoretical underpinnings of each antecedent. Results indicated some key antecedents of mentoring support at individual (e.g., protégé's proactivity, protégé's learning goal orientation, mentor's transformational leadership), relational (e.g., affect based trust, perceived similarity), and structural/organizational levels (e.g., organizational support for mentoring, supervisory mentoring). Recommendations for future research and organizational practice of mentoring are presented.     

Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Conversation: Some Comments on the Project of Comparative Philosophy

This paper seeks to highlight the East-West asymmetry in philosophical exchanges. It draws attention to the absence of Eastern thought in the curriculum of philosophy in the West and suggests that cliches and stereotypes about cultures in general and thought-traditions in particular are perpetuated in this manner. The aim of the paper is to encourage 'cross-cultural conversation' among philosophers. A critical review of the project of 'comparative philosophy' is made to disclose the fact that despite the difficulties of such an endeavor, it is an attempt to bring thought-traditions together and is thereby useful for promoting intercultural understanding.     

COSMOLOGY AND HINDU THOUGHT

Abstract. This paper outlines some major ideas concerning cosmogony and cosmogony and cosmology that pervade the Hindu conceptual world. The basic source for this discussion is the philosophical literature of some of the principal schools of Hindu thought, such as VaiVaiśika, Sānkhya, and Advaita Vedānta, focusing on the themes of cosmology, time, and soteriology. The core of Hindu philosophical thinking regarding these issues is traced back to the Rk Vedic cosmogonical speculations, analyzed, and contrasted with the "views of the opponent." The relevance of the Hindu worldview for overcoming the conflict between science and religion is pointed out.     

A STUDY OF SOCIAL IDENTITY IN THREE ETHNIC GROUPS IN INDIA

The present study examined social identity under three frames of reference, self, own group and outgroups, in three ethnic groups in India, High Caste Hindus, Muslims and Scheduled Castes. Fifty subjects for each group (with a total of 150 subjects) between the ages of 13 to 18 years were randomly selected from a rural district of Uttar Pradesh. Data were collected using a 24 adjective checklist and analyzed using ANOVA and t tests. The results indicated considerable similarity in social identity of High Caste and Muslim subjects. In both groups a strong sense of positive social identity was found. The Scheduled Caste, however, displayed a marked negative social identity in relation to the two other ethnic groups. The findings were examined in relation to existing intergoup relations theory and interplay of specific subcultural experiences.     

Temporal aspects of passive movement-related corticomotor inhibition

We have previously shown that during rhythmic passive movement of the index finger, the amplitude of the motor evoke potential (MEP) of the first dorsal interosseous muscle (FDI) as the index finger moved through mid-range adduction, is significantly reduced compared to rest [Edwards, D. J., Thickbroom, G. W., Byrnes, M. L., Ghosh, S., & Mastaglia, F. L. (2002). Reduced corticomotor excitability with passive movement: A study using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Human Movement Science 21, 533-540]. In the present study we have investigated the time-course of this phenomenon. We found that MEP amplitude was significantly reduced at the mid-range position in the first cycle of movement (50+/-6% of resting baseline values), and did not vary across subsequent cycles (10 cycles in 50 s), but that MEP amplitude returned to baseline values within 1s of cessation of movement. The results suggest that the pattern of afferent discharge set up by the kinematics of the movement acting at spinal or supraspinal levels underlies the inhibition observed, rather than an effect of central origin or a cumulative effect of ongoing cyclic movement.     

Reduced corticomotor excitability with cyclic passive movement: a study using transcranial magnetic stimulation

Human voluntary movement involves the integration of kinaesthetic information with efferent motor activity during the planning and execution stages of movement. While much is known of the inhibitory and excitatory effects resulting from activation of specific kinaesthetic sensory receptors, in the present study we employed cyclic passive movement of the index finger in order to activate a range of kinaesthetic receptors in a manner that was intended to correspond to how these receptors might be active during a comparable voluntary movement. We intended to identify how this passive movement protocol might affect the excitability of the corticomotor pathway. During 1 Hz cyclic passive movement of the index finger there was an approximately 60% reduction in the amplitude of the motor evoked response from the first dorsal interosseous muscle. The results of the present study demonstrate that passive movement can have a profound effect on the excitability of the corticomotor pathway.     

A Review of “Suicidal Intent” Within the Existing Suicide Literature

The results of a systematic literature review that investigated suicide intent are presented. Of the 44 relevant articles identified, 17 investigated the relationships between various suicide risk factors and suicide intent and 25 publications investigated the relationships between suicide intent and various suicide outcomes. Despite recent advancements in the definition and nomological validity of suicide intent, a high degree of variability in the empirical measurement and analysis of suicide intent was found. Such variability limits future research related to measuring suicidal risk and outcomes, reporting suicide intent, or the meaningful comparison of diagnostic approaches or treatments across multiple studies.     

A context-independent situational judgment test to measure prosocial implicit trait policy

Two studies developed and validated a context-independent situational judgment test (SJT) of prosocial implicit trait policy (ITP). The first study developed a SJT based on critical incidents about the prosocial behavior of physicians, lawyers, community service volunteers, and human factors engineers. In a sample of 396 undergraduates, scores obtained from this SJT were internally consistent and correlated significantly with other trait constructs related to prosocial ITP. In the second study with 134 undergraduates, the SJT was significantly correlated with relevant trait constructs and prosocial performance in role-plays simulating scenarios in which others needed help. These results show that a generic SJT developed from items that describe situations and actions specific to several occupations can predict behavior in situations unlike any that appear in its items.     

Evolution of grain-boundary character distribution during iterative processing of an austenitic stainless steel

The present article deals with the analysis of grain-boundary character distribution (GBCD) and microstructural characteristics after iterative processing of austenitic stainless steel, AISI 316L. The steel was subjected to iterative cold reduction and subsequent annealings. After an initial decrease in the fraction of Σ3 boundaries, the number of these increases in subsequent steps. The results relate the importance of iterative processing and the mechanism of obtaining a higher fraction of Σ3 boundaries.