Dominant Explanation Research Articles

The Educational Gradient in Health among Children in Immigrant Families.

Educational inequality in the health of U.S. children-what social scientists refer to as the "educational gradient" in health-is present at birth for virtually every marker of health, and increases throughout childhood. However, a puzzling contradiction to this pattern has been observed among the growing population of youth in immigrant families. Some evidence suggests an ambiguous relationship between education and health among immigrant families, with a flat relationship between maternal education and maternal health behaviors and children's birth outcomes, and a stronger relationship as children become adolescents. Does an educational gradient in health emerge among children in immigrant families during childhood and adolescence? To date, we lack a prospective examination of how the gradient changes from birth throughout childhood and adolescence among this population. Moreover, while the dominant explanation for a weaker gradient among children with immigrant parents centers on the family setting, we know little about family-level dynamics among the same immigrant families as children age. Using national, longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, we examine the association between maternal education and children's health (measured by mothers' ratings) over the early life course (birth through age 15) among children of immigrants and children of native-born parents, and consider whether changes in children's economic status and family composition contribute to the educational gradient, or lack thereof, in child health. Analyses reveal that: (1) maternal education is strongly predictive of health, even among children of immigrants; (2) immigrant status does not appear to be protective for health within educational groups, as evidenced by poorer health among children of immigrants whose mothers have the lowest level of education, as compared to children of natives; (3) children in the least-educated immigrant families are experiencing better health trajectories as they age than children in similar native-born families; and (4) accounting for economic conditions and family composition does not reduce the size of the gradient over time.

Inovação e Difusão de Tecnologia na Agricultura de Várzea na Amazônia

Resumo A literatura sobre a inovação e a difusão de tecnologias no agronegócio é vasta e a explicação dominante para a disseminação de inovações enfatiza o processo de influência e fluxo de informações através de um sistema social. Questões de pesquisa relativas à inovação e difusão de tecnologias ultrapassam os limites disciplinares convencionais. Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar a inovação e a difusão de tecnologias no contexto da agricultura em áreas de várzea no interior do Estado do Amazonas. Um conjunto de proposições foi desenvolvido com foco nos fatores que influenciam na concepção do processo de inovação e difusão. Através de uma pesquisa qualitativa, foram feitas entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os estágios de análise do processo mental de difusão não determinam a adoção de inovação na presente pesquisa. Os resultados sugerem que o ambiente competitivo do lado da oferta, bem como a influência das indústrias de agronegócio, assistência técnica, agenda política de desenvolvimento, projetos universitários e prática de campo podem favorecer a difusão de tecnologias. O artigo busca ampliar o atual paradigma na compreensão de inovações e na difusão, incorporando fatores operantes em um contexto peculiar de agricultura, sugerindo elementos que, se estimulados, podem ser comunicados e assimilados dentro de um sistema social.

Right-wing populism in a metropolis: Personal financial stress, conservative attitudes, and Rob Ford’s Toronto

ABSTRACT Elections such as the UK “Brexit” referendum, Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the presidency, and the growth of the Alternative for Germany party in Germany have led to concerns about the viability of liberal democratic institutions. Voters appear increasingly drawn to populists. However, before Brexit, and before Trump, there was Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Known equally for bizarre personal antics and outsider status, Ford is a classic case of a right-wing populist politician. We examine this relatively early manifestation of a populist by taking into account various factors. One dominant theoretical explanation is based on economic anxieties amidst increasing inequality and polarizing labor markets. A second, and perhaps more dominant theory, emphasizes working class xenophobia and racism. Results from an analysis of a 2014 survey suggest support can be explained by many factors, such as ideology, partisanship, social conservatism, education, financial stress, suburban residency, among others. Sometimes, factors show a direct link to support for Ford. In other cases, particularly as it relates to financial stress, the relationship is more complex. Also, analysis shows that visible minorities were more likely than non-visible minorities to support Ford, contrary to the general anti-immigrant and sometimes racist appeals of populists elsewhere.

Impact of the Changes in the Nifty Index Constituents

The objective of this study is to conduct an empirical examination of the S&P CNX Nifty index reconstitutions, between 2009 and 2018, focusing on both the price and non-price effects and the explanations surrounding them. The event methodology, with multiple abnormal return computational methods, is employed to improve the robustness and reliability of the results. The results show that the Nifty index additions (deletions) are associated with significant positive (negative) permanent abnormal returns. But the evidence of permanent abnormal volume is limited, unlike the developed markets. The evidence in this study favours the downward sloping demand curve hypothesis as the dominant explanation for the permanent abnormal return. This study extends the existing literature to a hitherto unexplored new sample period.

The rules of exchange: The role of an exchange surplus in producing the endowment effect

The endowment effect is one of the most robust and well-studied phenomena in the behavioral decision literature. The dominant explanation for this effect is that loss aversion and/or the psychological value of ownership changes the subjective valuation of an item. The current research presents evidence for an alternative account of endowment that requires no shift in subjective value. We argue that (a) individuals will only agree to exchange (i.e., buy and sell) if they perceive some minimum net gain, an exchange surplus, and (b) existing work cannot disentangle the possible effects of an exchange surplus from genuine shifts in subjective value because ownership and exchange are confounded in standard demonstrations of the endowment effect. Four experiments test this idea by separating the effects of exchange from ownership in various ways. Results indicate that exchange has a substantial effect on prices, that this effect appears to be independent of subjective valuation, and that it can explain valuation differences ordinarily ascribed to ownership. We discuss why individuals might demand an exchange surplus and the implications of this for monetary valuation.

The Abbreviated Vigilance Task and Its Attentional Contributors.

To measure contributing attentional processes, particularly that of executive attention, to two iterations of the abbreviated vigilance task. Joel Warm was at the forefront of vigilance research for decades, and resource theory is currently the dominant explanation for the vigilance decrement. The underlying mechanisms contributing to both overall performance and the decrement are only partly understood. Seventy-eight participants answered questionnaires about their attentional skills and stress state, performed the Attention Network Test and two blocks of the 12-min abbreviated vigilance task, with a brief break between the two vigils during which they viewed images intended to affect performance. Changes in oxygenated hemoglobin were measured with functional near-infrared imaging. Expected patterns were observed for both iterations of the abbreviated vigilance task, with performance declining after the first 2 min. Manipulations intended to evaluate whether executive processes contributed to vigilance performance failed to observe an effect. Other factors, particularly orienting and alerting attentional networks, task engagement, and subclinical ADHD symptomology were associated with performance. Significant factors for the first and second vigilance blocks were different. We suggest that (a) cognitive control is not a predominant factor, at least for the abbreviated vigilance task, and (b) attentional mechanisms and stress states affecting performance on the abbreviated vigilance task change over time. Potential applications of this research include the use of breaks for sustained attention tasks involving high sensory load, and implications for the use of the abbreviated vigilance task as a proxy for general vigilance processes.

Dementia: new vistas and opportunities

Over the past four decades, Alzheimer disease has become near synonymous with dementia and the amyloid/tau hypothesis as its dominant explanation. However, this monorail approach to etiology has failed to yield a single disease-modifying drug. Part of the explanation stems from the fact that most dementias in the elderly result from interactive Alzheimer and cerebrovascular pathologies. Stroke and dementia share the same risk factors and their control is associated with a decrease in stroke and some dementias. Additionally, intensive control of risk factors and enhancement of protective factors improve cognition. Moreover, anticoagulation of atrial fibrillation patients decreases their chance of developing dementia by 48%. Preliminary data suggest that treating blood pressure to a target of 120mmHg systolic compared to a target of 140mmHg decreases the chances of mild cognitive impairment by 19%. The Berlin Manifesto establishes the scientific bases of "preventing dementia by preventing stroke." Enlarging our vista of dementia to include cerebrovascular disease offers the opportunity of preventing not only stroke, but some dementias, beginning now.

Unintended Consequences of EU Democracy Support in the European Neighbourhood

ABSTRACTThe European Union’s (EU) impact on the political governance of the European neighbourhood is varied and sometimes opposite to the declared objectives of its democracy support policies. The democracy promotion literature has to a large extent neglected the unintended consequences of EU democracy support in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. The EU has left multiple imprints on the political trajectories of the countries in the neighbourhood and yet the dominant explanation, highlighting the EU’s security and economic interests in the two regions,cannot fully account for the unintended consequences of its policies. The literature on the ‘pathologies’ of international organisations offers an explanation, emphasizing the failures of the EU bureaucracy to anticipate, prevent or reverse the undesired effects of its democracy support in the neighbourhood.

1941 and the National-Patriotic Revival in Russia

ABSTRACTHitler’s invasion of the USSR has long been a source of historiographical controversy. In the West, the version of events pushed by former German commanders, which emphasized Hitler’s mistakes, the weather, and brutal Soviet profligacy, became the dominant Cold War explanation for Hitler’s failure to take Moscow. This explanation no longer finds many adherents among Western historians. The official Soviet explanation emphasized the treacherous German attack, heroic resistance by the Red Army, and the solidarity of the Soviet government and people. During glasnost’, a ‘revisionist’ critique of the Soviet view fervently attacked once-sacred shibboleths surrounding the prosecution of the war. This article explores the evolving anti-revisionist ‘national-patriotic’ version of 1941 that has become the new dominant paradigm in Russia.

Domestic violence against men: prevalence, implications, and consequences

Domestic violence against men is a phenomenon that has received little attention. The literature on domestic violence in both international, local (Nigeria) literature and even within the scholarly literature and other popular media are biased against men only directed towards women and children. This article discusses the various sources of the prevalence of domestic violence against men, the dominant theoretical explanation for IPV in general, and its implications for women perpetrators and men as victims in rapport to social work profession, as well as the current evidence of the consequences of domestic violence against men, convey into social work practice.

De blik naar buiten: bestuurlijke verbouwingen in het buitenland

In this special issue, recent public sector reforms in South Africa, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Singapore and Denmark are analysed. Reforms in the public sector are by and large explained as a chronological development from traditional bureaucracy, via New Public Management to New Public Governance. This is also the way the many administrative reforms in the Dutch public sector are often explained.The articles give insight in the administrative developments in these countries and their background. They also offer the opportunity to make comparisons with administrative developments in the Netherlands, and to draw lessons. The analyses show that the dominant explanation of reforms in the public sector (from traditional bureaucracy, to New Public Management to New Public Governance) is helpful in making sense of administrative developments, but they put this explanation into perspective too.For the Dutch situation yet another insight came to light. We often complain that the Dutch processes are cumbersome, take long and involve many -if not all- stakeholders. A close reading of the contributions from abroad must inevitably change this pejorative view on our national sport: the cumbersome process provides valuable checks and balances, that will help to fight the drawbacks and risks that we have seen in the international cases.

Difference and punishment: Ethno-political exclusion, colonial institutional legacies, and incarceration

One dominant theoretical explanation for higher incarceration rates across the world focuses on how a nation’s level of diversity or minority presence broadly writ unleashes racial resentment that can lead to incarceration. This article contends that population heterogeneity alone offers an incomplete picture of how ethnic-based tension can affect incarceration rates. Rather, we argue that majority ethnic groups around the world use prison systems in order to govern and manage minority populations, especially those systematically excluded from power. In addition, we argue that these political structures have their roots in a nation’s colonial legacy, a legacy that shapes a nation’s contemporary incarceration rates. Results from our quantitative analysis reveal that controlling for competing explanations, there are positive associations between ethnic political exclusion and the length and form of a nation’s colonial experience and rates of incarceration.

Isogamy in large and complex volvocine algae is consistent with the gamete competition theory of the evolution of anisogamy.

Although the gamete competition theory remains the dominant explanation for the evolution of anisogamy, well-known exceptions to its predictions have raised doubts about the completeness of the theory. One of these exceptions is isogamy in large or complex species of green algae. Here, we show that this exception may be explained in a manner consistent with a game-theoretic extension of the original theory: a constraint on the minimum size of a gamete may prevent the evolution of continuously stable anisogamy. We show that in the volvocine algae, both gametes of isogamous species retain an intact chloroplast, whereas the chloroplast of the microgamete in anisogamous species is invariably degenerate. The chloroplast, which functions in photosynthesis and starch storage, may be necessary to provision a gamete for an extended period when gamete encounter rates are low. The single chloroplast accounts for most of the volume of a typical gamete, and thus may constrain the minimum size of a gamete, preventing the evolution of anisogamy. A prediction from this hypothesis, that isogametes should be larger than the microgametes of similar-size species, is confirmed for the volvocine algae. Our results support the gamete competition theory.

An Introduction and Historical Background of Concept of Akhlat (Humour)

Humoral theory, also known as theory of akhlat is a key concept in Unani System of Medicine. It was originated in Ancient Greece and later developed by Galen and Arabic Physicians. The theory was central to the teachings of Greco Arabic medicine and it became the dominant theory in Europe for many centuries. It remained a major influence on medical practice and teaching until eighteenth century. The theory was first postulated by Hippocrates in his treatise On the Nature of Man. The method of approach of these early thinkers was to look for natural explanations for human physiology and disease causation with the help of logical reasoning and observation. In this theory, humors existed as liquids within the body which are known as blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. The humoral theory evolved over millennia and finally became the dominant explanation of human physiology. This was in contrast to the supernatural theories for disease causation and also attempt to explain that disease instead is a naturalistic event and it can be understood by natural causes. This short review will mainly focus on the understanding and historical background of the theory of akhlat.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 02 No. 04 October’18. Page : 189-192

Atypical maternal cradling laterality in an impoverished South African population

ABSTRACTHuman studies consistently report a 60%–80% maternal left cradling preference. The dominant explanation points to an engagement of the emotionally more-attuned right brain. In contrast, we found equal incidences of left (31.3%), right (34.3%) and no-preference (34.3%) cradling in an impoverished South African population living under adverse conditions characterized by extreme dangers. We found striking differences on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) between mothers with no cradling laterality preference and mothers with either a left or right preference. In several mammals a homologous left preference becomes stronger when acute threats prevail, rendering the rightwards shift we observed under dangerous conditions seemingly paradoxical. We propose this paradox can be resolved in terms of life-history strategy theory which predicts reduced parental investment in chronically dangerous environments. We interpret our high PSI score findings in no-preference cradlers as indicative of poorer, or at least ambivalent, maternal coping which many studies show is typically associated with reduced emotional sensitivity and responsiveness. We suggest that the latter may be a psychological mechanism mediating a partial withdrawal of parental investment in response to an enduringly adverse environment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating cradling laterality preferences in an adverse socioeconomic environment.

Misinformation and the Justification of Socially Undesirable Preferences

AbstractAttempts to correct political misperceptions often fail. The dominant theoretical explanation for this failure comes from psychological research on motivated reasoning. We identify a novel source of motivated reasoning in response to corrective information: the justification of socially undesirable preferences. Further, we demonstrate that this motivation can, under certain conditions, overpower the motivation to maintain congruence. Our empirical test is a national survey experiment that asks participants to reconcile partisan motivations and the motivation to justify voting against a racial minority candidate. Consistent with our argument, racially prejudiced participants dismiss corrections when misinformation is essential to justify voting against a black candidate of their own party, but accept corrections about an otherwise identical candidate of the opposing party. These results provide new insight into the persistence of certain forms of political misinformation.

Verbal-spatial and visuospatial coding of power-space interactions.

A power-space interaction, which denotes the phenomenon that people responded faster to powerful words when they are placed higher in a visual field and faster to powerless words when they are placed lower in a visual field, has been repeatedly found. The dominant explanation of this power-space interaction is that it results from a tight correspondence between the representation of power and visual space (i.e., a visuospatial coding account). In the present study, we demonstrated that the interaction between power and space could be also based on a verbal-spatial coding in absence of any vertical spatial information. Additionally, the verbal-spatial coding was dominant in driving the power-space interaction when verbal space was contrasted with the visual space.

An application of the theory of planned behavior to student retention

Although student integration theory, a sociologically-based model, has been the dominant explanation for student drop-out from colleges for over 40 years, it has received only mixed empirical support in residential colleges and less in non-residential colleges. Psychological theories of active choice and behavior change offer an alternative explanation for drop-out. In research at a non-residential UK university, structural equation modeling was used in two separate studies to compare a model of student dropout based on student integration theory with a psychological model based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). In the first study (N = 633), a model including TPB variables and two key student integration theory variables (academic integration, and social integration) showed good fit to the data, Although all three TPB variables predicted intention to quit, neither of the two student integration theory variables did so. The TPB variables explained over 60% of the variance in student's intention to voluntarily withdraw from college before completing their studies, and intention to withdraw was associated with actual dropout behavior. In the second study (N = 180), using alternative measures of student integration theory factors, a model including both student integration theory and TPB variables had acceptable fit, and over 70% of the variance in intention to quit was explained. But only the TPB variables predicted intention to quit significantly. The benefits of adopting a process-based psychological explanation to student retention are discussed.

Leader-member exchange and leader identification: comparison and integration

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare and integrate leader-member exchange (LMX) and leader identification (LID) as concurrently functioning mediators between three leadership styles (individual-focused transformational, contingent reward, and benevolent paternalistic) and two citizenship behaviors (helping and taking charge).Design/methodology/approachData included 395 stable, independent leader-follower dyads from numerous Chinese organizations. Partial least squares structural equation modeling and relative weight analysis were used in data analyses.FindingsIn established, steady-state leader-member alliances, LMX was the dominant explanation between various leadership styles and helping; whereas LID explained leadership effects on taking charge. Three-stage indirect effects of leadership-LMX-LID-taking charge were found. Also, LMX and LID related to the three focal leadership styles in distinct ways.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include cross-sectional data. Strengths include a large, multi-source field sample. Implications include that LMX and LID provide different prosocial motivations; LMX indirectly engenders stronger other-orientation through LID; and the nature of indirect leadership effects via LID is more sensitive to the nature of the focal leadership styles. LMX and LID together provide a package of prosocial motivations.Practical implicationsLeaders interested in increasing employees’ helping vs taking charge behaviors can be more effective by understanding the different motivational potentials of LMX vs LID. Leaders also need to choose appropriate behavioral styles when they activate LMX vis-à-vis LID.Originality/valueThis study integrates multiple leadership theories to provide a nuanced account of how social exchange and self-concept explain leadership at the interpersonal level when leadership styles, LMX, and LID are stable.

Transoceanic Dispersal and Plate Tectonics Shaped Global Cockroach Distributions: Evidence from Mitochondrial Phylogenomics.

Following the acceptance of plate tectonics theory in the latter half of the 20th century, vicariance became the dominant explanation for the distributions of many plant and animal groups. In recent years, however, molecular-clock analyses have challenged a number of well-accepted hypotheses of vicariance. As a widespread group of insects with a fossil record dating back 300 My, cockroaches provide an ideal model for testing hypotheses of vicariance through plate tectonics versus transoceanic dispersal. However, their evolutionary history remains poorly understood, in part due to unresolved relationships among the nine recognized families. Here, we present a phylogenetic estimate of all extant cockroach families, as well as a timescale for their evolution, based on the complete mitochondrial genomes of 119 cockroach species. Divergence dating analyses indicated that the last common ancestor of all extant cockroaches appeared ∼235 Ma, ∼95 My prior to the appearance of fossils that can be assigned to extant families, and before the breakup of Pangaea began. We reconstructed the geographic ranges of ancestral cockroaches and found tentative support for vicariance through plate tectonics within and between several major lineages. We also found evidence of transoceanic dispersal in lineages found across the Australian, Indo-Malayan, African, and Madagascan regions. Our analyses provide evidence that both vicariance and dispersal have played important roles in shaping the distribution and diversity of these insects.