Assessing the Climate for Creativity (KEYS): Confirmatory factor analysis and psychometric examination of a Taiwan version

Understanding the feasibility of using KEYS to assess the organizational climate for creativity in non‐Western societies is essential for researchers studying cultural influences on workers' perceptions of workplace climates. This study reports on the effectiveness of translating KEYS, using data from 401 employees of 13 different companies in Taiwan. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed and its results indicated a satisfactory fit for a 10‐factor model. However, six items tackling environmental obstacles had low factor loadings (<0.3) and should either be eliminated or amended. The results raise questions regarding the role of cultural influences in international studies that assess creativity climates. Further research into the conceptualization of organizational creativity in Chinese societies is warranted.     

Great man or great myth? A quantitative review of the relationship between individual differences and leader effectiveness

This study presents a meta‐analysis of 25 individual differences proposed to be related to effective leadership, with an emphasis on comparing trait‐like (e.g. personality and intelligence) to state‐like individual differences (e.g. knowledge and skills). The results indicate that although both trait‐like (achievement motivation, energy, dominance, honesty/integrity, self‐confidence, creativity, and charisma) and state‐like (interpersonal skills, oral communication, written communication, administrative/management skills, problem‐solving skills, and decision making) individual differences were consistent predictors of effective leadership, the impact of trait‐like and state‐like individual differences was modest overall and did not differ substantially (ρ= .27 and .26, respectively). Finally, organizational level of the leader, method of predictor and criterion measurement, and organization type moderated the relationship between individual differences and effective leadership.     

Stories as indicators of practical knowledge: Analysing project workers' talk from a study of participation in a youth inclusion programme

The paper deals with the issue of practical knowledge for enabling participation. Participation as a strategy for change is widespread in community, health and human service contexts. Research to date has focused on the mechanisms of beneficiaries' participation (e.g. identity, empowerment, activity, gender, space). However, participation as an engagement strategy is action oriented and requires high levels of interaction between those creating the conditions for participation and those participating. These conditions need to be continuously adjusted and outcomes are often unpredictable. This process of ‘working with’ is often dealt with as a technical issue and captured in metaphorical language. Less emphasis has been given to the type of knowledge modalities that might be necessary in order to enable participation. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of participation in a youth inclusion programme the paper explores the role of stories as potential indicators of practical knowledge. The paper argues that enabling young people's participation requires intuition and imagination, patience and perseverance, and judgement for acting under uncertainty. It concludes that stories only partially fulfil their potential as indicators of such knowledge modalities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mediating effects of negative emotions in parent–child conflict on adolescent problem behavior

Hierarchical regression analyses were used to study four types of negative emotions (rage, resentment, perceived threat, and self‐blame) as possible mediators of the effect of parent–child conflict on internalizing (psychosomatic symptoms and social withdrawal) and externalizing (violent aggression and deviance) behavior in 724 adolescents. After controlling for demographic variables, the results showed that for both parents conflict had a positive main effect on internalizing and externalizing behavior. Of the four types of negative emotions, rage was the strongest mediator to mediate the effect of conflict on violent aggression, and resentment was the strongest mediator to mediate the effect of conflict on psychosomatic symptoms, social withdrawal, and deviant behavior. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Gain face,but lose happiness? It depends on how much money you have

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of face consciousness on happiness and the moderating role of financial situation on this relationship. We first examined our hypotheses in study 1 in a particular setting of consumption, and replicated our findings in study 2 in a more generalized setting of interpersonal situations. The two studies produced essentially consistent results. We found individuals high on face consciousness tend to be less happy, and the negative association between face consciousness and happiness is ameliorated by their financial situation. These results revealed the importance of face consciousness as an individual difference in predicting happiness. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

Contemplative Pedagogy: Frequently Asked Questions

Contemplative Pedagogy is a new and sometimes controversial pedagogical practice. Faculty often have basic questions about how to implement the pedagogy in their classrooms, in addition to questions that challenge the educational value and appropriateness of the practice. Assembled here are the most frequently asked questions about Contemplative Pedagogy, with responses from six contemplative professors, each from a different institutional and philosophical location. The respondents are founding members of the Contemplative Studies Consultation of the American Academy of Religion. The diversity of views expressed by the respondents invites the reader to see that there is no single theory or praxis of contemplative pedagogy.     

Moderating effects in consumers' perceptions of price unfairness

This study explores the moderating effects of various consumer features – such as price insensitivity and recency of last purchase – on the relationships among perceived value, inferred vendor profit, and perceived price fairness. A proposed model is developed and an empirical study is then conducted among consumers in four contexts: (i) two tangible goods; and (ii) two intangible services. The proposed model and hypotheses are tested using Partial Least Squares (PLS) software SmartPLS 2.0.M3, which provides a component‐based approach for estimation purposes. The influence of these moderating variables (price insensitivity and recency of the last purchase) depends on the context and the nature of the offering. This is a pioneering study of perceived price fairness in a framework of distributive justice utilizing a variety of contexts, products, and services. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of consumer ethical beliefs in product‐harm crises

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumer reaction during a product‐harm crisis by examining the interdependencies that exist among their ethical beliefs as consumers, their attributions of blame, their feelings of anger and finally their purchase intentions towards the affected company. To test the five research hypotheses, a questionnaire containing a hypothetical crisis scenario of a fictitious company was distributed to 277 consumers. Respondents were asked to read the scenario and answer questions regarding their attribution of responsibility to the company, their feelings of anger and their purchase intentions. In order to investigate consumers' ethical beliefs, a Consumer Ethics Scale was also included in the questionnaire. Structural equation modelling revealed a significant, positive correlation between attributions of blame, anger and ethical beliefs. Moreover, anger negatively affects purchase intentions, whereas the attribution of blame was not found to be significantly connected to purchase intentions. In spite of the rational connection between ethics and crisis, there is lack of research correlating these two concepts. Based on this gap in the literature, the current research attempts to connect ethical beliefs with consumer reactions and emotions during product‐harm crises. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of Remembering Childhood Sexual Abuse on Addiction Recovery for Young Adult Lesbians

This article examines the impact of childhood sexual abuse on young adult lesbians' sexual identity and their recovery from chemical dependency. The authors recommend that counselors assess for sexual orientation (past and present), sexual abuse, and possible dual diagnosis. Implications for counselors are discussed.     

Sample size planning with the cost constraint for testing superiority and equivalence of two independent groups

The allocation of sufficient participants into different experimental groups for various research purposes under given constraints is an important practical problem faced by researchers. We address the problem of sample size determination between two independent groups for unequal and/or unknown variances when both the power and the differential cost are taken into consideration. We apply the well‐known Welch approximate test to derive various sample size allocation ratios by minimizing the total cost or, equivalently, maximizing the statistical power. Two types of hypotheses including superiority/non‐inferiority and equivalence of two means are each considered in the process of sample size planning. A simulation study is carried out and the proposed method is validated in terms of Type I error rate and statistical power. As a result, the simulation study reveals that the proposed sample size formulas are very satisfactory under various variances and sample size allocation ratios. Finally, a flowchart, tables, and figures of several sample size allocations are presented for practical reference.