Brief report: Complex postformal thought in skilled research administrators

Expert research administrators responded to questions to determine to what degree they had postformal thinking skills. Postformal theory suggests that the interpersonal and institutional complexity of work roles would make them likely to exhibit postformal thought. The tests included a questionnaire about the use of postformal operations on the job, and thinking-aloud taped interviews of responses to job-related and standard postformal problems. The respondents demonstrated the use of postformal thinking operations on job-related tests and a more moderate degree of use on the standard problems. The results support prior research and our working hypothesis that a high degree of interaction with people and complex problems is associated with adults' postformal thought.     

Investigating sex,masculinity and femininity in relation to impulsive driving and driving anger expression

Human factors constitute a class of prominent road safety related factors. In the present study, human factors of driving were studied by investigating sex differences and gender roles in relation to impulsive driving and driving anger expression. A total of 425 drivers between the ages of 18 and 56 (M = 25.46, SD = 7.58) participated to the study and completed a series of questionnaires including a demographic information form, the Bem Sex Roles Inventory, the Impulsive Driver Behaviour Scale and the Driving Anger Expression Inventory. According to the ANCOVA results, male drivers showed higher functional impulsivity, lack of premeditation and use of the vehicle to express anger than female drivers. Additionally, hierarchical regression analyses showed that masculinity was positively associated with functional impulsivity, urgency and the dimensions of aggressive anger expression. However, femininity was positively associated with functional impulsivity and adaptive/constructive anger expression, but negatively associated with the dimensions of dysfunctional impulsivity and aggressive anger expression. Overall, the results showed the significant solo effects of masculinity and femininity on impulsive driver behaviours and driving anger expression, over and above the effects of sex, and the interaction between sex and gender roles. In the present study, previously reported findings indicating the relationships between sex and gender roles and driving anger expression were supported and extended by providing the literature with the contribution of answering the question how sex and gender roles are related to impulsive driver behaviours. The findings of the two related concepts of impulsive driving and driving anger expression were discussed in light of the current literature. Contributions, implications and future research directions concerning road safety practices were presented.     

Mobility and migration experiences of transnational coaches within the Israeli handball context

ObjectivesDespite a growing body of literature on athletes' migration, the mobility and migration experiences of coaches have received limited attention. In this study, we explored the mobility and migration experiences of transnational coaches operating within the Israeli handball context.DesignA qualitative study was conducted, underpinned by our relativist ontology and a constructionist epistemological position.MethodsEight male professionals (e.g., national team coaches, senior team coaches, youth coaches), working (currently, or most recently) in national teams and clubs, who migrated to Israeli handball within the past five years were interviewed. A thematic analysis, integrating inductive and deductive reasoning, was applied in data analysis. Meticulousness was enhanced by focusing on a worthy topic, maintaining credibility, critical friends, producing generalization, and making a significant contribution.ResultsThe analysis yielded raw-data codes, further organized into lower-order themes and three higher-order themes reflecting transnational coaches' migration and mobility experiences within the Israeli handball context, including (a) cultural transition, (b) cultural adaption, and (c) coaches' personal insights about mobility and migration. The findings are conceptually analyzed and discussed in relation to the previous research on coaches' career migration.Discussion and conclusionThe findings emphasize the complexity of the migration process, accompanied by varying motivations, demands and barriers, active decision-making; all within the framework of cultural adaptation. The participants endorsed a transnational coaching career, driven by their open-mind mentality and personal-professional growth.     

Bullying as a group process: Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group

Bullying was investigated as a group process, a social phenomenon taking place in a school setting among 573 Finnish sixth-grade children (286 girls, 287 boys) aged 12–13 years. Different Participant Roles taken by individual children in the bullying process were examined and related to a) self-estimated behavior in bullying situations, b) social acceptance and social rejection, and c) belongingness to one of the five sociometric status groups (popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, and average). The Participant Roles assigned to the subject were Victim, Bully, Reinforcer of the bully, Assistant of the bully, Defender of the victim, and Outsider. There were significant sex differences in the distribution of Participant Roles. Boys were more frequently in the roles of Bully, Reinforcer and Assistant, while the most frequent roles of the girls were those of Defender and Outsider. The subjects were moderately well aware of their Participant Roles, although they underestimated their participation in active bullying behavior and emphasized that they acted as Defenders and Outsiders. The sociometric status of the children was found to be connected to their Participant Roles. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Aggressive behavior in the free-ranging rhesus monkeys of kathmandu,nepal

We present a composite sample of the aggressive behavior of free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), recorded at two temples in Kathmandu, Nepal. We analyze the total number and the rate per monkey of threats, chases, attacks, fights, and aggressive acts directed at other species (principally humans), in order to elucidate social dynamics of the troop as a whole. Our 1,506 hours of observation were divided among the four seasons; between a.m. and p.m.; and among a temple yard, two parklands, and a forested garden. We found seasonal patterns to be the most important correlates of aggressive behavior. Habitat was a modulating influence, and time of day was the least important factor. Rates of aggression were generally higher per male monkey than per female. In terms of total aggression recorded, however, females instigated significantly more than males, both in encounters between monkeys and in aggression against other species. This finding is consistent with the females' greater numbers in the troop and with their lifelong membership in the troop. Analysis of behavior by social groups, rather than by individual rates, points up the iomportance of adult females and their social stability in troop behavior.     

Roles and Representations of Women in Early Chinese Philosophy: A Survey

An understanding of the roles and representations of women in classical Chinese philosophy is here derived from central texts such as the Analects, the Lienü Zhuan, and the I Ching. We argue that the roles of women during the classical period of Chinese philosophy tended to be as part of the “inner,” working domestically as a housewife and mother. This will be shown from three passages from the Analects. Women were represented as submissive and passive, as with the qualities ascribed to yin energy, and therefore as rightfully subordinate to men. However, despite representations of women in philosophy being thus at this time, there were exceptions, specific women who could take a male “outer” political role. The story of Jing Jiang from the Lienü Zhuan suggests that although women being involved in “outer” affairs were looked down on, there were still women who would be and who would occasionally get praised for doing so. This shows that it was realized, explicitly or otherwise, that women were capable of taking those roles, but also that they were not allowed to take such roles at that time.     

The Effects of Commercials on Children’s Perceptions of Gender Appropriate Toy Use

Sixty-two first and second grade students (28 boys, 34 girls) were exposed to one of three commercial videotapes in which either all-boys (traditional condition) or all-girls (nontraditional) were playing with a toy. Participants in the control condition were exposed to nontoy commercials. After exposure to one of the conditions participants performed a toy sort where they were asked if six toys, including the two manipulated toys, were for boys, girls, or both boys and girls. Participants in the nontraditional condition were more likely to report that the manipulated toys were for both boys and girls than were participants in the traditional condition, who were more likely to report that the manipulated toys were for boys. This effect was stronger for boys than for girls.     

Liberalism and the Privatised Family: The Legacy of Rousseau

This article argues that the intellectual legacy of Rousseau is at the root of the failure of 20th century egalitarian theorists such as Rawls and Dworkin to engage intellectually with feminist theorists working within the liberal tradition. Through an extended critique of Rousseau’s delineation of the relationship between liberal citizenship and the private family, it argues that the failure of such liberal theorists to take gender hierarchy seriously is a consequence of their attempt to place the private family outside the sphere not only of politics, but also of justice.     

Who's in Charge?: Coparenting in South and Southeast Asian Families

In light of the evolving roles of parents and the involvement of extended family within Asian cultures, the traditionally Western dyadic coparenting construct must be reconceptualized to include not only the coparenting relationship, but also other caregivers within the coparenting network. Theoretical and empirical evidence on coparental systems are discussed and two studies from South and Southeast Asian cultures are presented to highlight subcultural variations in cocaregiving networks. Results indicated that mothers were the primary caregivers across both cultural contexts. Extended family members assumed important coparental responsibilities in both cultural contexts. These findings highlight the need to reconceptualize and expand the dyadic coparental unit to include extended family members. We also discuss the relevance of the broader coparental network in examining the Asian childs education as well as cognitive and socioemotional development.