MEASUREMENT ERROR IN RESEARCH ON HUMAN RESOURCES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: ADDITIONAL DATA AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Gerhart and colleagues (2000) and Huselid and Becker (2000) recently debated the presence and implications of measurement error in measures of human resource practices. This paper presents data from 3 more studies, 1 of large organizations from different industries at the corporate level, 1 from commercial banks, and the other of autonomous business units at the level of the job. Results of all 3 studies provide additional evidence that single respondent measures of HR practices contain large amounts of measurement error. Implications for future research into the HR firm performance relationship are discussed.     

Friends' sexual orientation,relational quality,and mental health among gay,lesbian, and bisexual youth

Abstract The existing literature on gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) youth emphasizes unique benefits of having GLB friends, but empirical studies have shown no or only small mental health advantages of having them. To unravel this contradiction, this study tested a common assumption that GLB youth develop better relational quality with their GLB friends than with straight friends. Statistical analysis used interview data from community organization participants in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA (n = 84) and employed analysis of variance and ordinary least squares regression models. GLB youth's friendships with GLB and straight peers did not differ in contact frequency, emotional closeness, and hassles. Further, GLB and straight friends were similar in the degree to which each relational quality dimension was associated with mental health.     

FROM VIRTUE TO DECENCY

Abstract: In her work on virtue ethics Rosalind Hursthouse has formulated an Aristotelian criterion of rightness that understands rightness in terms of what the virtuous person would do. It is argued here that this kind of criterion does not allow enough room for the category of the supererogatory and that right and wrong should rather be understood in terms of the characteristic behavior of decent persons. Furthermore, it is suggested that this kind of approach has the added advantage of allowing one to make sense of the centrality of negative precepts in commonsense morality.     

Empathizing, systemizing and finger length ratio in a Swedish sample

von Horn, A., Bäckman, L., Davidsson, T. & Hansen, S. (2010). Empathizing, systemizing and finger length ratio in a Swedish sample. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 31–37.
The Empathy- and Systemizing Quotients (EQ and SQ, respectively; Baron-Cohen, 2003 ) were determined in a Swedish sample consisting mainly of university undergraduates. Females had significantly higher EQ than males, who in turn scored higher on the SQ inventory. Gender explained 12–14% of the variation. Males were strikingly overrepresented in the group defined by a high SQ/low EQ profile or by a large SQ – EQ difference; females dominated among people with a low SQ/high EQ profile or by a large EQ – SQ difference. Students majoring in the natural sciences had higher SQs than psychology majors, but in both groups the gender difference in SQ and EQ was strong. For each participant a weighted composite score was generated by multivariate processing of the EQ and SQ data (Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis). These scores were associated in a sex-linked fashion to a biometric measure reflecting prenatal testosterone exposure, i.e. the ratio between index (2D)- and ring (4D) finger lengths. In males a high (female-typical) 2D:4D ratio predicted an enhanced tendency to empathize and a reduced tendency to systemize; in women, by contrast, the 2D:4D ratio was unrelated to these traits. The present research confirms earlier work of a gender difference in EQ and SQ. The difference appears robust as it appears as large in Sweden (a country with high cultural gender-equality) as in countries with considerably lower gender-equality.     

Science as Structured Imagination

This paper offers an analysis of scientific creativity based on theoretical models and experimental results of the cognitive sciences. Its core idea is that scientific creativity — like other forms of creativity — is structured and constrained by prior ontological expectations. Analogies provide scientists with a powerful epistemic tool to overcome these constraints. While current research on analogies in scientific understanding focuses on near analogies, where target and source domain are close, we argue that distant analogies — where target and source domain differ widely — are especially useful in periods of intense conceptual change. To argue this point, we discuss three case studies from the history of science: early physiologists like Harvey, early evolutionary biologists like Darwin, and recent theorists on the evolution of the human mind like Mithen.     

Self-Employment and Baby Boomers: Ten Tips for Your Clients

The movement toward growth that characterized American industry for much of this century has now changed to a trend of consolidation. Consolidation typically includes layoffs, reductions in force, and restructuring. Such downsizing has caused baby boomers holding executive, managerial and professional administrative positions to consider self-employment opportunities. This article discusses how career counselors can assist these clients in evaluating and making the move from corporate America to self-employment.