Effects of social networks on cross-cultural adjustment

A total of 221 responses were obtained from a survey of international students in Japan, regarding the facilitative effects of social network formation on their adjustment. Regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationships among four types of adjustment revealed in a preceding study (“general adjustment,”“self-control,”“affiliative” and “dependent”), network size, demographic variables, expected social support, etc. For each adjustment type, predictive variables were identified. Two of the variables that showed network effects on adjustment were Japanese language proficiency and race (Asians vs. Westerners). From these results, it would appear that social network formation does facilitate adjustment, and insight into the effect of adjustment type and demographic variables on network functions was obtained. Furthermore, the actual conditions regarding network formation of international students in Japan were revealed.     

A Survey of Management Selection Practices in Greece

The results of a study of managerial recruitment and selection methods in Greece are presented. Forty-eight organizations responded to the postal survey. Questionnaires addressed the frequency of use of different methods and attitudes towards their use. Greek firms tend to use intuitive and subjective methods, such as interviews, curriculum vitae and personal recommendations. Interviews are considered the most valid predictors of future job performance followed by written examinations and psychological tests, while application forms followed by references and personal recommendations are viewed as the least valid.     

The definition of adequate care in externally sponsored clinical trials: The terminological controversy about the concept “standard of care”

The treatment of the control group in externally sponsored clinical trials is the issue of one of the most heated debates in international research ethics. The paradigmatic cases are the mother-to-child HIV-transmission trials that took place in 16 developing countries in 1997, where the control group received a placebo while proven treatment was available in industrialized countries. From this circumstance results the controversy as to whether the sponsor and researchers of externally sponsored trials have to supply a treatment that is usually not available in the host country. From the beginning of the debate the controversial level of treatment has been called “standard of care”. However, besides the disagreement about the quality of the care that has to be supplied, there is as yet no widely accepted clear meaning of this concept. This article examines the fundamental ambiguity of the term and its formal function as an ethical criterion including suggestions on its further use. This paper was presented at the 6th International Bioethics Conference on the subject of ‘The Responsible Conduct of Basic and Clinical Research’, held in Warsaw, Poland, 3–4 June 2005.     

WEIRDness abounds! Sample characteristics,restricted variance,and why they matter for international selection and assessment research

There is increasing awareness that reliance on samples from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) countries may have skewed our view of human phenomena. Nowhere is this more true than in international selection and assessment (ISA) research. In the present paper, we describe a way of understanding the impact of WEIRDness on ISA phenomena: restricted variance (RV). The WEIRDness problem is usually one of cross level interactions in which a country-level variable (e.g., individualism/collectivism) might moderate the relationship between two individual-level variables. RV can help to see not only where such cross level interactions might exist, but also provide a specific, mathematical reason for their existence. We use several examples from IJSA and related sources to illustrate the role of RV in ISA-based WEIRDness.     

Counselor training for Chinese international students in a United States graduate program: Experiences during training and after returning to China

An interpretative phenomenological analysis explored the experiences of former Chinese international students trained as counselors in a United States-based program (n = 9), both with respect to training and work experiences upon returning to China. Themes included strong counselor identity, struggles with adapting to mental health policies in China, and complications acclimating to training in the United States. Suggestions for educators include emphasis on international education and adjustments to hiring practices.     

Why the other-race effect matters: Poor recognition of other-race faces impacts everyday social interactions

What happens to everyday social interactions when other-race recognition fails? Here, we provide the first formal investigation of this question. We gave East Asian international students (N = 89) a questionnaire concerning their experiences of the other-race effect (ORE) in Australia, and a laboratory test of their objective other-race face recognition deficit using the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). As a ‘perpetrator’ of the ORE, participants reported that their problems telling apart Caucasian people contributed significantly to difficulties socializing with them. Moreover, the severity of this problem correlated with their ORE on the CFMT. As a ‘victim’ of the ORE, participants reported that Caucasians' problems telling them apart also contributed to difficulties socializing. Further, 81% of participants had been confused with other Asians by a Caucasian authority figure (e.g., university tutor, workplace boss), resulting in varying levels of upset/difficulty. When compared to previously established contributors to international students' high rates of social isolation, ORE-related problems were perceived as equally important as the language barrier and only moderately less important than cultural differences. We conclude that the real-world impact of the ORE extends beyond previously identified specialized settings (eyewitness testimony, security), to common everyday situations experienced by all humans.     

Professional standards: Can they shape practice in an international context?

A summary of the career of a Russian engineer who practiced a century ago in western Europe, as well as in Russia, provides an example of how ethical standards can influence practice across national boundaries. An examination of his career and his conception of engineering, of the evolution of engineering standards and codes, and of the process of formulating codes in particular instances explains how international standards can shape practice in an international context. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Engineering Foundation Conference on “Ethics for Science and Engineering Based International Industries”, Durham, NC, USA, 14–17 September 1997.     

System influences on posthomicide beliefs and distress

Criminal justice system experiences in 150 family members of homicide victims were investigated. The study had two goals: (a) to document the experiences of homicide survivors in the criminal justice system, including case outcomes, criminal justice system activities, and satisfaction with system personnel; and (b) to determine if experiences with the police impacted posthomicide beliefs (cognitive assumptions about the world and one’s relationship to it) and psychological distress. The sample, which was identified through the Medical Examiner’s Office, was drawn from all criminal homicides from 1.5 to 5 years prior to selection. Results showed that family members of homicide victims were very dissatisfied with their experiences in the criminal justice system. Additionally, whereas objective system outcomes (e.g, arrest) did not directly affect posthomicide beliefs and distress, subjective system outcomes (e.g., police satisfaction) directly affected beliefs and indirectly affected distress. There was some support for both equity theory and a cognitive theory of change, the two theories that guided the model specification. This study was funded by a predoctoral National Research Service Award fellowship to Martie Thompson, from the Violence and Traumatic Stress Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. We thank Paula Vardaman for her help with sample recruitment and data collection, Nancy Deore and Kelly Harlan for their help with data collection, and Ann Price for help with data entry. Additionally, we would like to thank Lieutenant Agan of the Atlanta Homicide Division, the staff at the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the staff at the Victim Witness Assistance Program for making this study possible by providing access to their files. Finally, we thank Morton Bard for his feedback in quastionnaire development and study design.     

Perspectives on international collaboration in sales research

Abstract

International research collaboration and co-authorship among scholars is always encouraged, yet it comes with its share of difficulties. While globalization brings its own challenges in sales, this special issue focuses on the challenges of fostering international collaboration in sales research. Such perspective is important in today’s academic context for three main reasons. First, international collaboration in research forces scholars to take an international perspective on research problems and thus consider fields of study that may transcend cultural boundaries. Second, with international research collaboration indubitably comes broader exchanges of ideas. Having a breadth of perspectives is at the very essence of scholastic work. Third, international research collaborations can drive intellectual communities to embrace important global challenges confronting modern sales organizations.