Confidence in Religious Leaders in Korea: A Research Note

Korea may provide an important testing ground for assessing religious growth as a correlate of religious authority. In Korea from 1985 to 1995, all religious groups experienced growth, but from 1995 to 2005 only the Catholic population did so. Favorable images of Korean Catholicism compared to other Korean religions point to one factor that may account for this trend, namely, confidence in religious leaders. Up to now there has been no empirical test measuring confidence in religious leaders among different religious groups in Korea. Using the 2003–2007 Korean General Social Surveys cumulative data, we found a hierarchy of confidence in religious leaders ranging from highest to lowest as follows: Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, no religion. Our finding may suggest the continued vitality of Catholicism in Korea.     

A Butterfly Dream in a Brain in a Vat

Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Dream story can be read as a skeptical response to the Cartesian Cogito, ergo sum solution, for it presents I exist as fundamentally unprovable, on the grounds that the notion about “I” that it is guaranteed to refer to something existing, which Descartes seems to assume, is unwarranted. The modern anti-skepticism of Hilary Putnam employs a different strategy, which seeks to derive the existence of the world not from some “indubitable” truth such as the existence of myself, but from the meaning of some particular assertion I make. In this paper, I argue, however, that Putnam’s argument fails to deliver on the promise of showing the self-refuting nature of the skeptical hypothesis, as it relies on a double use of “I”, a fallacy of equivocation, reflecting an unsolved tension between the argument’s general premise, which is rather Zhuangzian in spirit, and his unwitting adoption of that unwarranted notion about “I”. I try to show further that the skepticism in Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Dream not only can be used to refute the proofs of the existence of the empirical I, but also is effective against accounts concerning the existence of the transcendental I.     

What subjective experiences determine the perception of falling asleep during sleep onset period?

Sleep onset is associated with marked changes in behavioral, physiological, and subjective phenomena. In daily life though subjective experience is the main criterion in terms of which we identify it. But very few studies have focused on these experiences. This study seeks to identify the subjective variables that reflect sleep onset. Twenty young subjects took an afternoon nap in the laboratory while polysomnographic recordings were made. They were awakened four times in order to assess subjective experiences that correlate with the (1) appearance of slow eye movement, (2) initiation of stage 1 sleep, (3) initiation of stage 2 sleep, and (4) 5 min after the start of stage 2 sleep. A logistic regression identified control over and logic of thought as the two variables that predict the perception of having fallen asleep. For sleep perception, these two variables accurately classified 91.7% of the cases; for the waking state, 84.1%.     

Role Breadth Self-Efficacy and Foci of Proactive Behavior: Moderating Role of Collective,Relational, and Individual Self-Concept

This study aims to identify the interactive effect of role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE) and the three levels of self-concept (collective, relational, and individual) in predicting of different foci of proactive behaviors. Results from 259 matched responses from an airline company in Taiwan showed that RBSE had a positive effect on (1) pro-organizational proactive behavior among those with higher collective self-concept, (2) pro-supervisor proactive behavior among those with higher relational self-concept, and (3) pro-self proactive behavior among those with higher individual self-concept. Our findings provide insights into the moderating role of different levels of self-concept on RBSE-proactive behavior process in terms of specific targets or beneficiaries. Further implications for organizational research and practice are discussed.     

Self-esteem and proactive personality as predictors of future work self and career adaptability: An examination of mediating and moderating processes

Basing on career construction theory and self-verification theory, current research examined the mediating and moderating models for the relations among self-esteem, proactive personality, career exploration, future work self and career adaptability. A two-wave survey study was conducted among Chinese university students (N = 305). The results showed that both self-esteem and proactive personality (measured at time 1) positively predicted future work self and career adaptability (measured at time 2), with these relationships mediated by career exploration (measured at time 1). In addition, the results further revealed that the positive effect of self-esteem on career exploration was stronger among students who had a higher level of proactive personality. In support of the hypothesized moderated mediation model, for individuals with a higher level of proactive personality, the indirect effects of self-esteem on future work self and career adaptability through career exploration were stronger. These findings carry implications for research on career construction theory and career counseling practices.     

结构方程模型常用拟合指数检验的实质

拟合指数检验是评价结构方程模型(SEM)的重要环节。从协方差结构分析的角度将SEM与传统的回归模型比较,容易理解为什么SEM需要拟合指数。揭示了目前几种流行的拟合指数检验的实质:基于卡方的绝对拟合指数(如RMSEA)检验的实质是重新设定卡方检验的显著性水平(不同于通常的.05),相对拟合指数(如NNFI和CFI)检验的实质是基于虚模型设定均方(卡方与自由度之比)降低到的比例;在NNFI大于临界值后,报告和检验CFI是不必要的。根据研究结果提出了一些方便实用的拟合检验建议。     

A Comparison of Multilevel Imputation Schemes for Random Coefficient Models: Fully Conditional Specification and Joint Model Imputation with Random Covariance Matrices

Abstract

Literature addressing missing data handling for random coefficient models is particularly scant, and the few studies to date have focused on the fully conditional specification framework and “reverse random coefficient” imputation. Although it has not received much attention in the literature, a joint modeling strategy that uses random within-cluster covariance matrices to preserve cluster-specific associations is a promising alternative for random coefficient analyses. This study is apparently the first to directly compare these procedures. Analytic results suggest that both imputation procedures can introduce bias-inducing incompatibilities with a random coefficient analysis model. Problems with fully conditional specification result from an incorrect distributional assumption, whereas joint imputation uses an underparameterized model that assumes uncorrelated intercepts and slopes. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that biases from these issues are tolerable if the missing data rate is 10% or lower and the sample is composed of at least 30 clusters with 15 observations per group. Furthermore, fully conditional specification tends to be superior with intraclass correlations that are typical of crosssectional data (e.g., ICC?=?.10), whereas the joint model is preferable with high values typical of longitudinal designs (e.g., ICC?=?.50).     

A Mediated Moderation Model of Recruiting Socially and Environmentally Responsible Job Applicants

Socially and environmentally responsible organizations must attend to the fit of employees with the values of the organization. Recruiting practices are a key tool for ensuring fit with an organization's culture and values. We develop and test a model of the process through which recruitment information about an organization's social and environmental responsibility values differentially affect job seeker perceived fit, attraction, and job pursuit intentions depending on job seekers’ desire to have a significant impact through work. Our model of mediated moderation is tested with a sample of 339 actual job seekers using conditional process modeling and nonlinear bootstrapping techniques. Results support expectations that advertisement messages about an organization's social and environmental responsibility values interact with applicants’ desire to have a significant impact through work to influence job pursuit intentions through the hypothesized mediational process. Implications of the model for research on recruitment and organizational social and environmental responsibility are discussed.     

思想传统、价值观念与精神家园——作为西方精神家园的希腊哲学的启示

西方文明以历史悠久、源远流长著称于世,其之所以能够延续数千年仍然保持着生机和活力的根源,乃在于在其诞生之初的希腊哲学就形成了影响整个民族优良的文化传统,同时这一传统更经历了历久的发展而成就了整个民族的核心价值观念,正是这些缘由使得西方文明将古希腊作为自己的精神家园,历久弥新.     

Creativity Booster: How Time versus Money Impacts Creative Performances

Past research shows that time and money, although both scarce resources indispensable in modern societies, tend to exert distinct impacts on interpersonal behaviors. Yet, little is known about the effects of these two resources on intrapersonal cognitive processes, including creative thinking. In the present research, we explored whether and how increasing the saliency of time versus money concept would affect creative thinking. Six experiments provide converging evidence that activating time concept leads to superior creative performance than money concept. Specifically, individuals treated to time priming (versus money priming) were more likely to solve insight problems (Experiments 1a and 1b), to expand boundaries of conceptual categories (Experiment 2), and to identify connections among seemingly unrelated stimuli (Experiments 3a, 3b and 4). Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.