The Problem of Indifference to Suffering in the Mahābhārata Tradition

International Journal of Hindu Studies - In the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa is regularly accused of ignoring harm that befalls its various characters. In fact, the Sanskrit verb...     

The effects of goal progress cues: An implicit theory perspective

Consumers often encounter goods and services that provide cues to mark their progress. We define the term “goal progress cues” to reflect the diverse category of cues that highlight progress towards a goal. Across a series of three studies, we show that entity theorists, who rely on cues that highlight completion in order to signal their abilities to others, evaluate tasks that include these cues more favorably than those that lack these features. In contrast, incremental theorists, who focus on improving competence, are impacted only by progress cues that highlight learning. We demonstrate these findings across a variety of goal pursuit contexts that represent a mix of customer-centric (retail queues), service-oriented managerial (sales calls), and personal achievement consumer product (mazes) domains using both behavioral and self-reported measures. We conclude with a discussion about the theoretical and substantive implications of our findings.     

Effect of anxiety on behavioural pattern separation in humans

Behavioural pattern separation (BPS), the ability to distinguish among similar stimuli based on subtle physical differences, has been used to study the mechanism underlying stimulus generalisation. Fear overgeneralisation is often observed in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. However, the relationship between anxiety and BPS remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of anxiety (threat of shock) on BPS, which was assessed across separate encoding and retrieval sessions. Images were encoded/retrieved during blocks of threat or safety in a 2?×?2 factorial design. During retrieval, participants indicated whether images were new, old, or altered. Better accuracy was observed for altered images encoded during periods of threat compared to safety, but only if those images were also retrieved during periods of safety. These results suggest that overgeneralisation in anxiety may be due to altered pattern separation.     

Effects of Non-conformity on Perceived Status and Competence: Examining the Moderating Role of Physical Attractiveness

The present study attempts to examine how people perceive non-conforming behaviour and what do they infer about subjects who demonstrate non-conformity. Interviews were conducted to determine the operational definition and perception about non-conformity. Analysis of the interviews revealed that non-conformity is attributed to not abiding by the rules that have been defined or laid out by an authority in a particular context. Scenario-based experiments were conducted, and the obtained data were analysed to reach a conclusion regarding observers’ perception about non-conforming individuals in a collectivist culture. The results showed that non-conforming behaviour leads to a negative inference about status and competence. Also, we found that the attractiveness of non-conforming individuals does not lessen the negative inferences derived by the observers in a collectivist culture. The findings can be extended to devise several communication and signalling strategies to influence the mass behaviour in a collectivist culture, like India. The study provides us insights about achieving social objectives as well as driving behavioural change in a collectivist context.     

Empirical Evaluation of Dimensionality of Organizational Citizenship Behavior for Indian Business Context

Knowledge about dimensionality of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is essential for conducting any future research on the construct. The present study explores the suitability of OCB conceptualization developed by Organ (1988) in Indian business context. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to test the dimensionality of the 5-factor OCB conceptualization. Based on the results of CFA alternate conceptualizations were explored. A three factor conceptualization consisting of ??organization-orientation??, ??punctuality?? and ??individual-orientation?? factors showed excellent fit with data. Concurrent validity of factors was tested with organizational justice, organizational identification and job tenure. ??Organization-orientation?? and ??individual-orientation?? emerged as significant dimensions of OCB. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Materialism and charitable giving: Can they co‐exist?

It is generally believed that Western societies are more materialistic compared with other cultures. However, it has also been observed that Americans are among the most generous of all, contributing their time, money, and effort to charitable causes. This research attempted to examine the relationship between materialism and charitable giving. Results of an empirical study suggest that it is possible for materialism to co‐exist with charitable giving. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are also discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life events and brand preference changes

Three types of variable have been used to explain brand preference changes: consumer characteristics, marketing mix factors and situational influences. The study presented in this paper focuses on the relationship between life events experienced by individuals, resultant stress and lifestyle changes and changes in brand preferences. Based on theory and past research, a model is proposed and tested. The data support the notion that brand preference changes may be viewed as the outcome of adjustments to new life conditions and changes in consumption lifestyles that reflect consumer efforts to cope with stressful life changes. Implications for consumer research are also discussed. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Capability development in knowledge intensive IT enabled services

Most of the call centre literature discusses cases where the customer support task is routine and low in complexity. Call centres are considered to be modern equivalents of factory sweatshops in this literature. Technical support, however, is an example of a knowledge intensive support service. The article presents a case study of a call centre providing remote technical support and illustrates the nature of capabilities required for consistent service performance. The practices adopted at this technical support call centre do not confirm to the sweatshop stereotype mentioned in the literature.     

The effect of gender stereotype activation on entrepreneurial intentions

In this study, the impact of implicit and explicit activation of gender stereotypes on men's and women's intentions to pursue a traditionally masculine career, such as entrepreneurship, was examined. On the basis of stereotype activation theory, it was hypothesized that men and women would confirm the gender stereotype about entrepreneurship when it was presented implicitly but disconfirm it when it was presented explicitly. Hypotheses were tested by randomly assigning 469 business students to one of 6 experimental conditions and then measuring their entrepreneurial intentions. Results supported the hypothesis when entrepreneurship was associated with stereotypically masculine characteristics but not when it was associated with traditionally feminine characteristics. Men also had higher entrepreneurial intention scores compared with women when no stereotypical information about entrepreneurship was presented, suggesting that underlying societal stereotypes associating entrepreneurship with masculine characteristics may influence people's intentions. However, men and women reported similar intentions when entrepreneurship was presented as gender neutral, suggesting that widely held gender stereotypes can be nullified. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.