The effect of culture on the curvilinear relationship between performance and turnover

Although researchers have theorized that there exists a curvilinear relationship between job performance and voluntary turnover, their research has been tested in the United States or culturally similar Switzerland. Through a study of the performance-turnover relationship from a multinational service-oriented organization in 24 countries, we demonstrate that the general relationship between performance and turnover is similar across countries but the details of that relationship change across countries. Using 4 cultural dimensions--in-group collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and performance orientation--we find that cultural factors alter the overall probability of voluntary turnover and influence the degree of curvilinearity in the performance-turnover relationship. Our findings have implications for research on the performance-turnover relationship, turnover research, and practice.     

国内近十年来意识和无意识关系研究的新成就

近十年来,国内掀起了从自然科学途径进行意识和无意识对比研究的新热潮,尤其在实验范式的引进、修正、完善和模型建构方面,做出了中国学者自己的贡献。错误记忆、内隐时间及不注意视盲等新领域的触及代表了国内学者在意识研究内容上的丰富。“钢筋水泥”、“意识涌现”及“车站监视室”等模型的提出,代表了中国学者在意识研究理论方面的创新。当前国内意识研究与国外基本同步,但存在着“研究领域泛化,神经机制探讨有限,跨学科整合力度有待深化”的问题。     

Interaction of a dislocation with an elliptical hole in icosahedral quasicrystals

The interaction between a dislocation and an elliptical hole in icosahedral quasicrystals is considered. An explicit expression for the complex potential is derived using the extended Stroh formalism. Based on the conformal mapping method and a perturbation technique, closed-form solutions are obtained. The field intensity factors at a crack tip and the image forces on the dislocation arising from the crack are calculated. The effects of phonon–phason elastic coupling on the mechanical behavior are also observed.     

Teaching Engineering Ethics using BLOCKS Game

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a newly developed design game called BLOCKS to stimulate awareness of ethical responsibilities amongst engineering students. The design game was played by seventeen teams of chemical engineering students, with each team having to arrange pieces of colored paper to produce two letters each. Before the end of the game, additional constraints were introduced to the teams such that they faced similar ambiguity in the technical facts that the engineers involved in the Challenger disaster had faced prior to the space shuttle launch. At this stage, the teams had to decide whether to continue with their original design or to develop alternative solutions. After the teams had made their decisions, a video of the Challenger explosion was shown followed by a post-game discussion. The students’ opinion on five Statements on ethics was tracked via a Five-Item Likert survey which was administered three times, before and after the ethical scenario was introduced, and after the video and post-game discussion. The results from this study indicated that the combination of the game and the real-life incident from the video had generally strengthened the students’ opinions of the Statements.     

内隐刻板印象中反刻板印象信息的干预研究

该研究以性别职业刻板印象和自我-职业刻板印象的内隐联想测验（IAT）为实验材料和测量工具．通过提供反刻板印象信息为干预策略进行实验。研究表明：职业一性别刘板印象和职业一自我刻板印象层次不同,在总体上具有显著的相关;大学生在职业-性别刻板印象和职业一自我刻板印象上都存在极其显著的内隐效应,女大学生显示极强的内隐职业一自我刻板印象;在职业-自我刻板印象上,反刻板印象信息具有显著的干预作用,对男大学生的干预作用比对女大学生的大;在内隐水平上反刻板印象信息只能部分消除刻板印象;设计的[AT纸笔测验版本是可行的;在学校教育中渗透性别平等教育将是十分必要的和可行的。     

International Exchange Training in Genetic Counseling: An Exploration of the Value in Exchange Experiences

International exchange training in genetic counseling is increasing, but research examining these experiences is lacking. In this study 309 genetic counseling students and genetic counselors completed an anonymous survey investigating six major research questions: (1) How prevalent are international genetic counseling experiences? (2) What types are pursued and why? (3) What supports and barriers exist? 3) What are the demographic characteristics of individuals accruing international experience? (5) Does international experience promote professional development? and (6) Do genetic counseling students and professionals perceive international experiences as beneficial? Most respondents were Caucasian females born in one of 25 countries. The most prevalent experiences involved either clinical observation or clinical training. Common motivations for pursuing international experience were personal growth, exposure to a different healthcare system, and travel opportunities. Outcomes included professionally-relevant experience and personal growth. Barriers included finances, limited availability of opportunities, and for those without international experience, family responsibilities. Additional findings, practice and training implications, and research recommendations are provided.     

Social power facilitates the effect of prosocial orientation on empathic accuracy

Power increases the tendency to behave in a goal-congruent fashion. Guided by this theoretical notion, we hypothesized that elevated power would strengthen the positive association between prosocial orientation and empathic accuracy. In 3 studies with university and adult samples, prosocial orientation was more strongly associated with empathic accuracy when distinct forms of power were high than when power was low. In Study 1, a physiological indicator of prosocial orientation, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, exhibited a stronger positive association with empathic accuracy in a face-to-face interaction among dispositionally high-power individuals. In Study 2, experimentally induced prosocial orientation increased the ability to accurately judge the emotions of a stranger but only for individuals induced to feel powerful. In Study 3, a trait measure of prosocial orientation was more strongly related to scores on a standard test of empathic accuracy among employees who occupied high-power positions within an organization. Study 3 further showed a mediated relationship between prosocial orientation and career satisfaction through empathic accuracy among employees in high-power positions but not among employees in lower power positions. Discussion concentrates upon the implications of these findings for studies of prosociality, power, and social behavior.     

Stress and happiness among adolescents with varying frequency of physical activity

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate associations between physical activity, stress, and happiness, as well as possible sex and age differences on these variables in a survey of 1,508 adolescent pupils (13 to 18 yr.) in middle Norway. Adolescents who reported they participated in physical activity 2 to 3 times per week or more scored significantly lower on stress and higher on happiness than those who participated in physical activity 1 day per week or less. There was no significant difference on stress and happiness between those being physically active 2 or 3 times a week and those being active almost every day. There was no sex difference in physical activity frequency. Girls had higher mean scores on stress, and boys scored higher on happiness. Adolescents 15 to 16 years old showed higher stress scores than those 17 to 18 years old, but there were no significant differences between the different age groups when looking at happiness and physical activity. A statistically significant two-way interaction of sex by age was found on both stress and happiness.     

多元复合的宗教文化意象--临水夫人形象探考

在海峡两岸,临水夫人被民众尊奉为“陆上女神”,而与“海上女神”妈祖一道受到最隆重的礼拜,临水夫人信仰也成了我国民俗文化尤其是闽浙赣粤湘台乡土文化的重要组成部分。本文从宗教哲学的角度出发,以分析临水夫人的原型入手,着重阐析了临水夫人儒道释三位一体的宗教形象,庶几有助于人们对临水夫人信仰这一民俗文化现象有较全面、深入的认识。     

内-外群体偏爱的内隐效应实验研究

本研究以地域刻板印象和地域内一外群体偏爱的两种IAT为实验材料和测量工具,通过它们之间的相关研究进行实验。研究表明：刻板印象和内群体偏爱的内隐效应明显地存在;上海人的内隐效应大于外地人,外地人仍具有一定的内隐效应但也显示具有一定的内隐偏爱;上海人与外地人存在着内群体偏爱,值得注意的是外地人还有一定的对弱势的认同,具有外群体偏爱;实验证明我们设计的IAT纸笔测验版本是可行的,优点是高效、经济、方便和实用。