Attitudinal Differences Research Articles

Would You Like to Know More? Selection, Socialization, and the Political Attitudes of Military Veterans

Although research during the Vietnam era suggested that the political attitudes of American veterans were not significantly different from those of the public at large, more recent studies argue that this may not be the case for veterans of the all-volunteer military. Thus far, however, the reason for this difference has gone unexplored: are veterans from the volunteer era different because a certain type of person is drawn to military life (selection), or are their attitudes shaped by their service (socialization)? Using new survey data on the political attitudes of Americans, and statistical techniques designed to tease out the difference between selection and socialization effects, we examine this question, assessing the extent to which the two factors play a role in this attitudinal difference. Our results have implications for political representation, civil-military relations, and the role of formative experiences in political and psychological development more generally.

Information sharing between the child welfare and behavioral health systems: Perspectives from four stakeholder groups

ABSTRACTThis qualitative study articulates the challenges, best practices, and facilitators to information sharing when addressing the behavioral health needs of children in out-of-home care. 13 interviews and nine focus groups were conducted to illuminate the perspectives of foster parents, mental health clinicians, provider agency social workers, and city-employed child welfare professionals. In total, 65 individuals participated in this qualitative study and data were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Results indicate that challenges and best practices in cross-system information sharing articulated across the four stakeholder groups are attributed to variation in information accessibility, clarity in roles and protocols, ability in obtaining signatures for consent/release forms, and attitudinal differences towards collaboration. Implications to improve policy and practice are discussed.

Antecedents of attitudes toward eWOM communication: differences across channels

Purpose Despite the extensive academic interest in electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication, consumer attitudes toward eWOM communication have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for attitudes toward eWOM communication across digital channels. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a web-based survey on seven major digital communication channels. ANOVA was applied in order to analyze their differences. In addition, structural equation modeling was used to test the eWOM attitude model, using a sample of 864 participants who have had prior experience with the channels under study. Findings Findings indicate that both attitude toward eWOM and its antecedents significantly differ across channels. Additionally, a path analysis model reveals that the original integrated model applies to eWOM communications. Yet, in the case of eWOM, irritating messages may be positively related to attitude toward the channel, and credibility serves as a mediator of message value. Research limitations/implications This paper supports the notion that attitude toward eWOM communication significantly differs across media channels. Future research should examine additional implications of attitude toward eWOM, and explore new and evolving channels. Practical implications Practitioners should adjust their eWOM media strategy to their objectives; blogs and social networks are more effective for brand attitude formation, whereas web forums enhance message credibility. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research study that tests attitudinal differences toward eWOM across digital channels. As such, it contributes to the understanding of people’s perception of these platforms.

Attitude toward female genital mutilation among Somali and Harari people, Eastern Ethiopia.

BackgroundFemale genital mutilation (FGM) is a worldwide problem, and it is practiced by many communities in Africa and Asia as well as immigrants from those areas. This practice results in short- and long-term health consequences on women’s health. Like many other developing countries, FGM is widely practiced in Ethiopia, especially among Somali and Harari ethnic groups. Despite intensive campaigns against FGM in Ethiopia, since 2011, it has been practiced in the aforementioned communities. There is no recent information as to whether these campaigns have an impact on the attitude and practice of the community regarding FGM. This qualitative research was aimed at exploring the attitudes of Somali and Harari people between 18 and 65 years toward FGM.MethodsA purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 64 (32 in each region) participants. Data were collected from October to December 2015 in Somali and Harari Regions.ResultsThe findings showed that there was a strong support for the continuation of the practice among female discussants in Somali region, whereas male discussants from the same region and the majority of the participants from Harari region had a positive attitude toward the discontinuation of the practice. Marriageability was the major reason for practicing FGM in Somali region, whereas making girls calm, sexually inactive, and faithful for their husbands were mentioned in Harari region. Although young men in both the regions prefer to marry uncircumcised girls, the study showed that there are some differences in the attitude toward the FGM practice between the people in the two regions.ConclusionThe findings show that there is an attitudinal difference between the people in the two regions, which calls for behavioral change communication using women-centered approach and culturally appropriate strategies. As young people in both the regions had the intention to marry uncircumcised girls, there has to be a strong advocacy and multisectoral collaboration to stop FGM in both the regions.

The conceptualisation and measurement of bidimensional multigroup ethnic identity: A pilot study among US Hispanics

The shifting demographic landscape is changing the USA — and marketing — in the most fundamental ways. Ethnic identity, which has been conceptualised as an enduring, fundamental aspect of the self, has been treated as a categorical variable by leading researchers. This approach has well-documented limitations. This paper proposes that ethnic identity should be measured bidimentionally in order to fully account for the racial and ethnic duality within ethnic segments in the USA. This paper uses syndicated data to examine the validity of testing a new approach to conceptualise and measure multigroup ethnic identity in order to align today’s changing multicultural population with the demographic trends of the 21st century. This paper finds noticeable behavioural and attitudinal differences within Hispanic consumers when using a proxy variable for ethnic identity (ie cultural identification). These noted differences highlight the limitations in using ‘ethnicity’ as a categorical variable (eg you are either Latino or you are not) and the need to evolve this construct in a country in which the US population is becoming more and more biracial and multi-ethnic. Implications and limitations of the pilot study are discussed.

An Exploration of Millennials “Attitudinal and Behavioral Differences”.

Research has focused on the Boomer generation throughout the latter part of the 20th century and early 21st century. Limited studies have been done on the millennial generation and the X generation has for the most part been ignored. This study gathers research results based on the Millennials in an effort to examine the attitudinal and behavioral differences between the Millennials and the Boomers with little focus on the Xers. The results indicate that the proposed research model is, for the most part, supported and that the generational variances occur at the values and characteristics levels and not at the independent/dependent variable level with the exception of the millennial treatment of attitudinal organizational commitment. In conclusion, there are management actions required to plan for the value and characteristic variances.

Differentiating clinical care from disease prevention: a prerequisite for practicing quaternary prevention

This article contends that the distinction between clinical care (illness) and prevention of future disease is essential to the practice of quaternary prevention. The authors argue that the ongoing entanglement of clinical care and prevention transforms healthy into "sick" people through changes in disease classification criteria and/or cut-off points for defining high-risk states. This diverts health care resources away from those in need of care and increases the risk of iatrogenic harm in healthy people. The distinction in focus is based on: (a) management of uncertainty (more flexible when caring for ill persons); (b) guarantee of benefit (required only in prevention); (c) harm tolerance (nil or minimal in prevention). This implies attitudinal differences in the decision-making process: greater skepticism, scientism and resistance towards preventive action. These should be based on high-quality scientific evidence of end-outcomes that displays a net positive harm/benefit ratio.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: EFL students’ attitudes toward learning English language: The case study of Kashan University students

AbstractAttitude is considered as an essential factor influencing language performance and received considerable attention from both first and second language researchers. Al-Mamun, Rahman, Rahman, and Hossaim argue that attitude is the feeling people have about their own language. Thus, attitude to language is a construct that explains linguistic behavior in particular. This study aimed at investigating attitude of male and female English as a foreign language (EFL) learners of Kashan University toward English language learning in terms of the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects. To this end, a questionnaire survey administered upon a total of 30 randomly selected samples. Results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis showed a positive attitude toward English learning in three aspects of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional. In addition, there were statistically significant attitudinal differences between the two groups.

Naive realism in the unmarried cohabitation controversy in the United States

We explored the role of “naïve realism” in perceptions of attitudinal differences between proponents and opponents of unmarried cohabitation (UC) in the United States. Participants were presented with UC vignettes, asked to describe their own impressions of the couple in each scenario, and then to speculate about the impressions of the typical UC proponent and opponent. A comparison of these impressions yielded a pattern of false polarization in their perceptions, such that partisans’ self-reported sympathy was reliably more similar than the degree of sympathy either side attributed to the other. Partisans also exhibited egocentric bias regarding the basis for each side’s stances on UC. The relevance of this misperception and faulty assumptions toward the resolution of the debate over unmarried cohabitation is discussed.

Willingness to accept longer commutes for better salaries: Understanding the differences within and between couples

This paper reports on an analysis aiming to understand differences across individual people in their willingness to accept increased commuting time in return for higher salary, using Hierarchical Bayes (HB) analysis of a dataset collected in Sweden. We find that socio-demographic and attitudinal differences are significant in explaining the variations in values of time for individuals, in particular income, who drives when carpooling and hours worked per week. Additionally we also examine the values of individuals when their choices also impact on the salary and commute of their partner, finding that incomes, income differentials, driving behaviour when carpooling, division of housework and car user decisions significantly explain the values assigned to others and variations in an individual’s own values once their partner is affected. The overall richness of the results reflect the benefits that posterior analysis can bring, and highlight the computational efficiency of Bayesian methods in producing such conditionals at an individual level.

The Healthy Liverpool Children’s Programme

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the preliminary evaluation findings of an integration programme in the children’s health care sector in the North West of England. The programme was led by the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) utilising a semi-autonomous working group model. It comprised horizontal and vertical integration. The evaluation reflects the emerging policy context of CCG leadership in the field of health care planning and commissioning. Design/methodology/approach – The evaluation used a mixed method observational study design to obtain the views and opinions of stakeholders and measured their change over time. A series of initial semi-structured interviews was conducted with purposively selected key professionals in strategic positions to assist in designing a survey instrument. An online survey was launched at programme inception and repeated at five months. Respondents were members of five implementation working groups. Survey responses were subjected to a descriptive analysis and tests of correlation. Findings – The data showed high levels of commitment and perceptions of shared vision and goals amongst respondents which were relatively stable over time. Responses also indicated that the programme was perceived to have a considerable impact on collaborative work but that this initial effect decreased over time. There were no significant attitudinal differences across sectors or professional groups. Originality/value – The study demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of the multi-agency working group model to implement change. Whilst confirming initial positive effects of integration programmes on collaborative work, over time this appears to wear off to be replaced by increased levels of skepticism amongst participants. The author findings have implications for service commissioners and service planners engaging in vertical or horizontal integration of children’s services.

Attitudes, perceptions and practice of alcohol and drug screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment: a case study of New York State primary care physicians and non-physician providers

ObjectivesScreening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) has been endorsed by the United States Preventive Services Task Force as an evidence-based strategy to address risky alcohol use among adults in primary care. Nevertheless, very few healthcare professionals report using SBIRT in their practice. The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes regarding addressing substance use; perceptions of effectiveness, role responsibility, and self-efficacy; and current SBIRT practice among primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to identify factors which may impact routine delivery of SBIRT in primary care. Study designA cross-sectional design was used to meet study objectives. Responses of physicians and non-physician providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) were compared. MethodsPrimary care members of three New York State physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant professional organizations were surveyed between October 2013 and November 2013. ResultsBarely half of participants (57%) reported screening their patients for substance use, and less than half provided brief intervention (46%) or referral to treatment (47%). Using a standardized tool to screen patients for risky substance use and assessing readiness to change were practised least frequently. Compared to physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants felt less responsible for addressing substance use (P = 0.019), felt less comfortable discussing substance use (P = 0.004), had more negative attitudes toward addressing substance use (P = 0.015), and were less likely to conduct brief intervention (52% vs 32%; P < 0.0005) and referral to treatment (50% vs 70%; P = 0.001). ConclusionsThis study identifies important attitudinal and perceptual differences between physicians and non-physician providers which may be targeted by education and training and underscores an opportunity for using non-physician providers to conduct SBIRT.

Attitudinal similarities and differences of hotel frontline occupations

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify across a number of workplace variables the similarities and differences in attitudes between three key frontline hotel worker groups: housekeepers, front office employees and food and beverage front-of-house staff. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted using 25 semi-structured interviews with frontline workers employed in full-service hotels across Eastern Australia. Analysis was augmented through the Leximancer® software package to develop relational themes in the aggregation and disaggregation of the occupations. Findings Although work/life balance was a common theme across the three occupations, several distinct attitudinal differences emerged, in particular regarding perceptions of one occupational group towards another. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of hotel managers being cognisant of occupational differences and collecting data capable of assisting in the identification of these differences. Several practitioner relevant recommendations are made. Originality/value This exploratory study challenges assumptions regarding a “pan-industrial” hospitality occupational community and applies an emerging qualitative software package to highlight occupational differences and relational perceptions.

Built Environment Factors Influencing Walking to School Behaviors: A Comparison between a Small and Large US City.

A growing body of evidence supports the association between the built environment and children walking to school (WTS), but few studies have compared WTS behaviors in cities of different sizes. This case-comparison study utilized WTS data from fourth graders in the small city of Manhattan, KS, USA (N = 171, from all eight schools) and data from fourth graders in the large city of Austin, TX, USA (N = 671 from 19 stratified-sampled schools). The same survey instrument was used in both locations. After controlling for socioeconomic and demographic variables, built environment, neighborhood, and attitudinal differences were demonstrated by the odds ratios for WTS in the small city vs. the large city. WTS in the small city was more likely to be associated with walking paths/trails and sidewalk landscape buffers en route to school despite lower perceived neighborhood social cohesion, school bus availability, and parental concerns about crime, compared to WTS in the large city. Also, the small city lacked key pedestrian infrastructure elements that were present in the large city. This study highlights important differences related to WTS behaviors and, thus, provides key insights for encouraging WTS in cities of different sizes.

GP trainers and trainees – trait and gender differences in personality: implications for GP training

This study looked at differences between established GP trainers and current GP trainees in relation to personality traits. Personality differences are particularly important for training in the UK context where the attributes of successful GPs may be evolving as the context changes, and where there is a unique one-to-one relationship between trainer and trainee. GP trainers and trainees attending educational events were invited to participate in this study by completing the NEO-PI-R, a personality measure. Correlation and multiple regression analysis demonstrated differences between these groups; some in line with expected differences relating to age and gender. Others, such as lower reported levels of emotional resilience, may be particular to this trainee population. Overall the gender differences are significant given the trend towards the feminisation of the medical profession. Generational differences may also explain some behaviour and attitudinal differences which can aid trainers’ understanding of training issues. The findings have important implications for training, particularly in relation to the development of emotional resilience for GP trainees, and for recruitment. Further research correlating educational outcomes and perceived satisfaction with a GP career and GP training would indicate if trainer/trainee personality differences have a direct bearing on educational outcomes and future practice.

SME internationalization: How does the opportunity-based international entrepreneurial culture matter?

We employ the opportunity-based international entrepreneurial culture (IEC) comprehensive notion that draws upon the opportunity-based view (OBV). The OBV supports the idea that entrepreneurs mold the organizational behavior and characteristics of their firms to pursue opportunities abroad. We set out to explore possible attitudinal differences as regards exploitation of opportunities within firms in each of three internationalization dimensions that are previously identified in the literature, notably time to internationalization, country market presence and international mode. We perform eighteen case studies on high-performing internationalized small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in knowledge intensive sectors. The evidence refines the OBV as it manifests how three IEC characteristics (namely risk attitude, market orientation and networking propensity) matter for firms in the three internationalization dimensions. The study further adds to the international entrepreneurship literature that has until now myopically focused on international new ventures as if they were the sole opportunity-driven group of internationalized SMEs.

The Comparison of Grandparents’, Parents’, and Young People's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men in Turkey

ABSTRACTThe present study aimed to compare attitudes toward lesbians and gay men across three generations in Turkey. Participants were 112 young people, 169 parents, and 125 grandparents. A total of 406 men and women were involved. The short form of Herek's (1998) the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale was used. MANOVAs and ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. Results showed the attitudinal differences toward gay and lesbian people across generations. Grandparents have the most negative attitudes, whereas parents have more negative attitudes than their children. When comparing attitudes of each generation across sex, we found that young women have more liberal attitudes toward gay men compared to all other groups. Discussion focuses on understanding the results within the unique cultural context of Turkey.

E-cigarette Use in Veterans Seeking Mental Health and/or Substance Use Services

abstractObjective: Individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders smoke at elevated rates and tend to have greater difficulty quitting smoking as compared to the general population. Some believe that e-cigarettes may reduce harm associated with smoking, but little is known about e-cigarette use, perceptions, and motivations for their use among individuals with mental health and/or substance use disorders. Methods: Rates and correlates of e-cigarette use, perceptions, and sources of information about e-cigarettes among smokers seeking mental health and/or substance use services (N = 188) at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System were assessed via a brief survey. The Pearson χ2 test of independence was used to compare veterans who currently used e-cigarettes with those who did not. Logistic regression was used to examine independent attitudinal differences controlling for potentially confounding variables. Results: Participants were generally male (90%), Caucasian (54%), and older than 50 (69%), with high rates of at least one mental health condition (82%), at least one substance use disorder (73%), and comorbid mental health and substance use disorders (55%). A relatively high proportion of the sample (30.9%) used e-cigarettes. These participants, compared to those who did not use e-cigarettes, were more likely to have a mental health disorder and less likely to have a substance use disorder, started smoking later in life, spent less money on smoking, and were more likely to have tried to quit “cold turkey.” Knowledge of e-cigarettes originated most often from TV, radio, or personal contacts. Respondents held generally positive perceptions and motivations regarding e-cigarette use (i.e., it is socially acceptable, may help reduce/quit smoking, less harmful to others). Despite positive attributions, rates of dual use of e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes was high (86.2%), and very few people using e-cigarettes (6.9%) indicated that e-cigarettes actually helped them quit smoking, suggesting little related harm reduction. Conclusions: E-cigarettes are commonly used by smokers with mental health conditions and/or substance use disorders, a high-risk group that feels positive about e-cigarettes. However, positive regard of e-cigarettes did not appear to translate to ability to reduce or quit cigarette smoking. Safety and effectiveness research on e-cigarettes is urgently needed.

Social Municipality Perception in Turkey: A Case Study in the Istanbul, Izmir, Adana, Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipalities

Abstract. Social municipality, in the broadest sense, can be defined as an approach, to develop citizen and community-based practices where municipalities focuses on human on its policies. Tracks of this mentality in Turkey dates back to 90's when approach expanded its impact area with personal efforts of some mayors and has been accepted as an vital element of policy on promotion and competition of cities. Social municipality applications mostly shaped as social aids, social services and cultural activities. The purpose of this thesis is to detect the scope of the social municipality based services which has been performed by metropolitan municipalities and also defining the perception and attitude of the beneficiaries and practitioners toward those services. To achieve this purpose, a literature review about social state/welfare state, social politics and social municipality presented. Followingly had explained social municipality based services which has conducted by metropolitan municipalities. Finally, data obtained from the field research was analyzed with frequency distributions, one-sample t-test, two independent samples t-test and chi-square tests by using SPSS package software. At the end of study, it was found that scope of social services varies between metropolitan municipalities, however faced problems look similar. And also significant perceptional and attitudinal differences found between beneficiaries and practitioners toward social municipality based services. Key Words: Public Administration, Local Governments, Welfare State, Social Policy, Social Municipality. JEL. D73, H00, H70, H75, I00.

Mental health clinician attitudes to the provision of preventive care for chronic disease risk behaviours and association with care provision.

BackgroundPreventive care for chronic disease risk behaviours by mental health clinicians is sub-optimal. Little research has examined the association between clinician attitudes and such care delivery. This study aimed to explore: i) the attitudes of a multi-disciplinary group of community mental health clinicians regarding their perceived role, perception of client interest, and perceived self-efficacy in the provision of preventive care, ii) whether such attitudes differ by professional discipline, and iii) the association between these attitudes and clinician provision of such care.MethodA telephone survey was conducted with 151 Australian community mental health clinicians regarding their attitudes towards provision of assessment, advice and referral addressing smoking, nutrition, alcohol, and physical activity, and their reported provision of such care. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between attitudes and care delivery, and attitudinal differences by professional discipline.ResultsMost clinicians reported that: their manager supported provision of preventive care; such care was part of their role; it would not jeopardise their practitioner-client relationships, clients found preventive care acceptable, and that they had the confidence, knowledge and skills to modify client health behaviours. Half reported that clients were not interested in changing their health behaviours, and one third indicated that the provision of preventive care negatively impacted on time available for delivery of acute care. The following attitudes were positively associated with the provision of preventive care: role congruence, client interest in change, and addressing health risk behaviours will not jeopardise the client-clinician relationship.ConclusionsStrategies are required to translate positive attitudes to improved client care and address attitudes which may hinder the provision of preventive care in community mental health.