Empirical Progress Research Articles

What shapes the cultivation effects from infotaining content? Toward a theoretical foundation for journalism studies

Infotaining formats are gaining rapid popularity over the past decades. So far, studies often attempt either to define what infotainment is, how the technological and economic changes have given rise to the format, or what effects it exerts, but rarely consider all three aspects together. This raises the possibility that the properties of infotaining formats are under-defined, leading to a confusion about the effects from infotaining content. This article explores (1) where infotainment comes from, (2) what its constitutive properties are, and (3) why its potential cultivation effect should differ from other formats. From synthesizing these notions, an integrated model derives that combines insights from journalism studies and cultivation theory in order to explain how the technological and economic forces shape the infotaining content being produced, and its cultivating effects on the public further. Scholars from across multiple subfields can use this framework to make common theoretical and empirical progress.

Vincoli biologici e regole fenomenologiche. Osservazioni sulla percezione del suono

Over the last few decades, research on auditory perception has increased a great deal, treating a wide range of topics from different perspectives. Empirical research has provided a detailed account of sound perception in neurobiological terms. From a different perspective, the phenomenology of music has focused on the experience of auditory perception, highlighting the conditions that allow for the perception of sounds. Starting from the work by Giovanni Piana, I argue that sound perception is rooted in the experiential, from which arise the biological and cultural structures that allow for it, with no priority of one structure over another, but rather interconnections and reciprocal conditioning. I then introduce ‘biological constraints’ and ‘phenomenological rules’, as the key notions that any conceptual investigation on sound perception should focus on in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of musical listening. Biological constraints are ‘a priori’ conditions and are mainly due to the biology of the human perceiving system. Phenomenological rules emerge from the constitution of the auditory object according to subjective experience. Combining knowledge from neurosciences and phenomenology, my work aims also at fostering an innovative approach to the aesthetics of music that takes advantage of empirical progress in current research on auditory perception.

ПСИХОЛОГІЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ЕМОЦІЙНОГО ІНТЕЛЕКТУ ТА САМОРЕГУЛЯЦІЇ МАЙБУТНІХ ПСИХОЛОГІВ

У статті розглянуті основні наукові погляди на проблему емоційного інтелекту, підходи до його розуміння та інтерпретації. Представлені результати емпіричного дослідження динаміки емоційного інтелекту майбутніх психологів та відмінностей системи саморегуляції студентів з низьким та високим рівнем емоційного інтелекту. Досліджена динаміка міжособистісного та внутрішньоособистісного компонентів емоційного інтелекту майбутніх психологів в процесі навчання. Виявлено, що розвиток внутрішньоособистісного емоційного інтелекту виявляється в меншому ступені вираженості ніж міжособистісний емоційний інтелект; динаміка внутрішньоособистісного емоційного інтелекту має тенденцію до збільшення від низьких рівнів розвитку на молодших курсах навчання до нижньої межі високого рівня на старших курсах навчання; ріст відмінностей на рівні середніх значень міжособистісного емоційного інтелекту молодших та старших курсів не є статистично значущими. Міжособистіснийком понент емоційного інтелекту має виражену динаміку в процесі навчання; його рівень змінюється від низького рівня розвитку на молодших курсах навчання до високого рівня на старших курсах навчання; такі відмінності є статистично значущими. Досліджено індивідуальні особливості системи саморегуляції за рівнями емоційного інтелекту. Виявлено значущі відмінності у групах міжособистісного та внутрішньоособистісного емоційного інтелекту. У групі з високим рівнем міжособистісного емоційного інтелекту притаманно більш розвинуті процеси планування, програмування, контролю, гнучкості та самостійності. Група з високим рівнем внутрішньоособистісного емоційного інтелекту характеризується більш розвинутими процесами планування, моделювання та гнучкістю. Такі особливості системи саморегуляції психологів. Перспективами подальших досліджень є виявленні особистісних характеристик майбутніх психологів з різними рівнями емоційного інтелекту та його компонентів.

How Dictators Control the Internet: A Review Essay

A growing body of research has studied how autocratic regimes interfere with internet communication to contain challenges to their rule. In this review article, we survey the literature and identify the most important directions and challenges for future research. We structure our review along different network layers, each of which provides particular ways of governmental influence and control. While current research has made much progress in understanding individual digital tactics, we argue that there is still a need for theoretical development and empirical progress. First, we need a more comprehensive understanding of how particular tactics fit into an overall digital strategy, but also how they interact with traditional, “offline” means of autocratic politics, such as cooptation or repression. Second, we discuss a number of challenges that empirical research needs to address, such as the effectiveness of digital tactics, the problem of attribution, and the tool dependence of existing research.

Appraisal of certain methodologies in cognitive science based on Lakatos’s methodology of scientific research programmes

Attempts to apply the mathematical tools of dynamical systems theory to cognition in a systematic way has been well under way since the early 90s and has been recognised as a “third contender” to computationalist and connectionist approaches (Eliasmith in Philos Psychol 9(4):441–463, 1996). Nevertheless, it was also realised that such an application will not lead to a solid paradigm as straightforwardly as was initially hoped (Eliasmith 1996; van Leeuwen in Minds Mach 15:271–333, 2005). In this paper I explicate a method for assessing such proposals by drawing upon Lakatos’s (in: Lakatos, Musgrave (eds) Criticism and the growth of knowledge, Cambridge University Press, London, pp 91–195, 1970) methodology of scientific research programs (hereafter: “MSRP”). MSRP focuses on the heuristics of a particular field and gauges the model/theory building stratagems by reference to theoretical and empirical progress, on the one hand, and the continuity and the autonomy of the way the field’s heuristic generates its series of models/theories, on the other. The requirement of continuity and autonomy afford distinct senses of ad hoc-ness, which serve as an effective tool to detect various subtleties which may otherwise be missed: the present approach identifies shortcomings missed by Chemero’s (Radical embodied cognitive science, The MIT Press, Cambridge, 2009) radical embodied cognitive science and falsifies Chemero’s claim that the methodological powers of his model-based account is on a par with computationalism. In general, I claim that MSRP is relevant to current methodological issues in cognitive science and can supplement debates regarding “local” assessments of methodologies, such as that between mechanical versus covering-law explanations. MSRP must at least be viewed as a necessary constraint for any methodological considerations in cognitive science.

Disentangling acquisition experience: A multilevel analysis and future research agenda

Research interest in firms repeatedly involved in acquisitions has increased over the past decade. However, this increase has remained unmatched by efforts to integrate what is known, leaving the acquisition experience research field scattered, in turn hampering further theoretical and empirical progress. Taking a broad approach to experience, we review 106 empirical studies published in leading journals that focus on the effects of past acquisitions on subsequent ones. We discover three distinct but complementary ways in which research has dealt with experience. Moreover, research on acquisition experience has drawn conclusions on three important but insufficiently integrated levels of analysis. Our review delineates and systematises the current theoretical and empirical progress in acquisition experience research and outlines a future research agenda.

Genetic Paths to Evolutionary Rescue and the Distribution of Fitness Effects Along Them.

The past century has seen substantial theoretical and empirical progress on the genetic basis of adaptation. Over this same period, a pressing need to prevent the evolution of drug resistance has uncovered much about the potential genetic basis of persistence in declining populations. However, we have little theory to predict and generalize how persistence-by sufficiently rapid adaptation-might be realized in this explicitly demographic scenario. Here, we use Fisher's geometric model with absolute fitness to begin a line of theoretical inquiry into the genetic basis of evolutionary rescue, focusing here on asexual populations that adapt through de novo mutations. We show how the dominant genetic path to rescue switches from a single mutation to multiple as mutation rates and the severity of the environmental change increase. In multi-step rescue, intermediate genotypes that themselves go extinct provide a "springboard" to rescue genotypes. Comparing to a scenario where persistence is assured, our approach allows us to quantify how a race between evolution and extinction leads to a genetic basis of adaptation that is composed of fewer loci of larger effect. We hope this work brings awareness to the impact of demography on the genetic basis of adaptation.

Impact, Sustainable, Social and Environmental Entrepreneurship

The fact that sustainability, environmental and social issues are intertwined with the concepts of business and organizations (including NGOs) is no longer new and conceptual and empirical progress...

Countryside Biogeography: the Controls of Species Distributions in Human-Dominated Landscapes

Countryside biogeography seeks to explain the distribution of wildlife in human-dominated landscapes. We review the theoretical and empirical progress towards this goal, assessing what forces control the presence, abundance, and richness of species in anthropogenic and natural habitats, based on characteristics of the landscape and the species themselves. Recent modifications of species-area relationships that incorporate multiple habitat types have improved understanding of species diversity in countryside landscapes. Attempts to understand why species affiliate with human-modified habitats have been met with only partial success. Though traits frequently explain associations with human-modified habitats within studies, explanatory traits are only rarely shared between studies, regions, or taxa. Nonetheless, greater attention to the regional and climatological context of countryside landscapes has uncovered that (i) species that associate with human-modified habitats within landscapes tend to occur primarily in warm and/or dry biomes at regional scales and (ii) species that rely exclusively on human-modified habitats in cool or wet regions may be restricted to natural habitats in warm or dry regions. There remains a pressing need to determine how biodiversity can best be supported within landscapes to preserve nature and maximize ecosystem service benefits for humans. Future work in countryside biogeography must identify how land-use change interacts with other global stressors (e.g., climate change), determine how extinction debt and population sinks influence diversity, quantify the cascading effects of community changes on ecosystem services, and elucidate the evolutionary history and origins of species that today dwell in the countryside.

The Structure and Measurement of Career Indecision: A Critical Review

This article presents a comprehensive review of literature published between 2000 and 2017 relating to the theoretical and empirical progress of indecision structural models and assessment. Because career indecision remains a central topic for counseling, it is important for the field to achieve an updated understanding of relevant models and measurement. Based on their review, the authors found that factors of career indecision can be reliably and validly measured by three instruments: the Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire, the Emotional and Personality Career Difficulties scale, and the Career Indecision Profile. Drawing from these results, the authors developed an integrative model of career indecision consisting of five factors: neuroticism/negative affectivity, choice/commitment anxiety, need for information, lack of readiness, and interpersonal conflicts. Implications and recommendations for practice and research are discussed in a global context.

Understanding individual differences in theory of mind via representation of minds, not mental states

The human ability to make inferences about the minds of conspecifics is remarkable. The majority of work in this area focuses on mental state representation (‘theory of mind’), but has had limited success in explaining individual differences in this ability, and is characterized by the lack of a theoretical framework that can account for the effect of variability in the population of minds to which individuals are exposed. We draw analogies between faces and minds as complex social stimuli, and suggest that theoretical and empirical progress on understanding the mechanisms underlying mind representation can be achieved by adopting a ‘Mind-space’ framework; that minds, like faces, are represented within a multidimensional psychological space. This Mind-space framework can accommodate the representation of whole cognitive systems, and may help to explain individual differences in the consistency and accuracy with which the mental states of others are inferred. Mind-space may also have relevance for understanding human development, intergroup relations, and the atypical social cognition seen in several clinical conditions.

The development and preliminary psychometric properties of the Values Wheel

BackgroundIn Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), personal values function as motivational guideposts for behavior change and adaptive functioning. The continued empirical progress of this process-based therapy necessitates the development and evaluation of measures of values-directed behavior. This study reports on the preliminary psychometric properties of the Values Wheel: a new psychometric instrument designed and manufactured to provide an idiographic and weighted index of clients’ values-directed behavior. MethodOne hundred fifty adults attended an assessment session on an individual basis to complete a values card sort task, Values Wheel and questionnaire measures of positive mental health, psychological distress and ACT processes. To investigate temporal stability, 39 participants completed two subsequent assessment sessions – each separated by a two-week interval. ResultsThe Values Wheel demonstrated evidence of temporal stability with large correlations between the scores obtained on the three occasions. Correlations with indices of valued living provided preliminary support for the measure’s construct validity, whereas criterion-related validity was partially supported by correlations with positive mental health and stress. ConclusionsThese findings provide preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the Values Wheel. Notwithstanding this study’s limitations, the Values Wheel may hold potential as a measure of values-directed behavior with a broad scope of application in diverse contexts and languages.

The Science of Early Moral Development: on Defining, Constructing, and Studying Morality from Birth.

The first 4 years of moral development are perhaps the most transformative. Helpless neonates become infants who routinely help and harm others; infants develop into preschoolers who make moral judgments based on moral concerns with welfare. Over the past two decades, there has been tremendous empirical progress, but also theoretical stalemates, in research on early moral development. To advance the field, this chapter argues for providing definitions of key terms, adopting an interactionist and constructivist approach (eschewing the dichotomy between innate and learned characteristics), and combining naturalistic and experimental methods. On this basis, the chapter reviews research on how children's orientations toward helping and harming others develop gradually through everyday social interactions in the early years. In these interactions, children play active roles through initiation, negotiation, protest, and construction. The chapter concludes with key questions for future research on early moral development.

Echoes of Early Life: Recent Insights From Mathematical Modeling.

In the last decades, developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) has emerged as a central framework for studying early‐life effects, that is, the impact of fetal and early postnatal experience on adult functioning. Apace with empirical progress, theoreticians have built mathematical models that provide novel insights for DOHaD. This article focuses on three of these insights, which show the power of environmental noise (i.e., imperfect indicators of current and future conditions) in shaping development. Such noise can produce: (a) detrimental outcomes even in ontogenetically stable environments, (b) individual differences in sensitive periods, and (c) early‐life effects tailored to predicted future somatic states. We argue that these insights extend DOHaD and offer new research directions.

The Judgment Bias Task: A flexible method for assessing individual differences in social judgment biases

Many areas of social psychological research investigate how social information may bias judgment. However, most measures of social judgment biases are (1) low in reliability because they use a single response, (2) not indicative of individual differences in bias because they use between-subjects designs, (3) inflexible because they are designed for a particular domain, and (4) ambiguous about magnitude of bias because there is no objectively correct answer. We developed a measure of social judgment bias, the Judgment Bias Task, in which participants judge profiles varying in quality for a certain outcome based on objective criteria. The presence of ostensibly irrelevant social information provides opportunity to assess the extent to which social biases undermine the use of objective criteria in judgment. The JBT facilitates measurement of social judgment biases by (1) using multiple responses, (2) indicating individual differences by using within-subject designs, (3) being adaptable for assessing a variety of judgments, (4) identifying an objective magnitude of bias, and (5) taking 6 min to complete on average. In nine pre-registered studies (N > 9000) we use the JBT to reveal two prominent social judgment biases: favoritism towards more physically attractive people and towards members of one's ingroup. We observe that the JBT can reveal social biases, and that these sometimes occur even when the participant did not intend or believe they showed biased judgment. A flexible, objective, efficient assessment of social judgment biases will accelerate theoretical and empirical progress.

Pace-of-life syndromes: a framework for the adaptive integration of behaviour, physiology and life history

This introduction to the topical collection on Pace-of-life syndromes: a framework for the adaptive integration of behaviour, physiology, and life history provides an overview of conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and empirical progress in research on pace-of-life syndromes (POLSs) over the last decade. The topical collection has two main goals. First, we briefly describe the history of POLS research and provide a refined definition of POLS that is applicable to various key levels of variation (genetic, individual, population, species). Second, we summarise the main lessons learned from current POLS research included in this topical collection. Based on an assessment of the current state of the theoretical foundations and the empirical support of the POLS hypothesis, we propose (i) conceptual refinements of theory, particularly with respect to the role of ecology in the evolution of (sexual dimorphism in) POLS, and (ii) methodological and statistical approaches to the study of POLS at all major levels of variation. This topical collection further holds (iii) key empirical examples demonstrating how POLS structures may be studied in wild populations of (non)human animals, and (iv) a modelling paper predicting POLS under various ecological conditions. Future POLS research will profit from the development of more explicit theoretical models and stringent empirical tests of model assumptions and predictions, increased focus on how ecology shapes (sex-specific) POLS structures at multiple hierarchical levels, and the usage of appropriate statistical tests and study designs. As an introduction to the topical collection, we summarise current conceptual, theoretical, methodological and empirical progress in research on pace-of-life syndromes (POLSs), a framework for the adaptive integration of behaviour, physiology and life history at multiple hierarchical levels of variation (genetic, individual, population, species). Mixed empirical support of POLSs, particularly at the within-species level, calls for an evaluation and refinement of the hypothesis. We provide a refined definition of POLSs facilitating testable predictions. Future research on POLSs will profit from the development of more explicit theoretical models and stringent empirical tests of model assumptions and predictions, increased focus on how ecology shapes (sex-specific) POLSs structures at multiple hierarchical levels and the usage of appropriate statistical tests and study designs.

Using qualitative comparative analysis and system dynamics for theory-driven business model research

The business model has evolved as an important concept in strategic management. While recent years have seen substantial progress in the business model’s conceptual development, empirical progress remains limited. I argue that this limited progress might be due to a mismatch between the business model’s characteristics and the methods applied to study it. This essay introduces two methods—qualitative comparative analysis and system dynamics simulation—that share key characteristics with the business model concept. The essay introduces these methods and discusses five directions for applying them in business model research. In doing so, I hope to contribute to a stronger harmonization of conceptual and empirical business model research.

P 137 An ethical perspective on deep brain stimulation as an investigational treatment for Alzheimer’s disease

Question Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been investigated as intervention to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although there is urgent need for improvement of AD treatments, any novel interventions has to fulfill high ethical requirements to protect participants’ safety. In particular, a solid base of prior empirical evidence is required. However, what exactly constitutes sufficient evidence that outweighs the risk of investigational research is a matter of discussion. Since the rationale of DBS for AD assumes that AD is a “brain circuit pathology” it is relevant for both clinical neurophysiology and functional brain imaging. While the question “what degree of empirical evidence supports the given hypothesis?” has scientific answer, the question “when is evidence sufficient to warrant trials in humans?” is a normative one and requires ethical justification in addition to state-of-the-art scientific knowledge. Methods We assessed DBS trials ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ) enrolling patients with AD and conducted a comprehensive literature search ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ ). Our first aim was to identify the scientific rationale for the hypothesis of DBS as intervention for AD. The second aim was to ethically evaluate this rationale on the basis of normative standards as established in pharmacological research. Results We identified three clinical trials (total n = 56) and assessed comments, letters to editors and reviews. One trial did not make failure to provide informed consent an exclusion criterion (consent by caregivers was sufficient). We also found wide-ranging epistemic uncertainties involved in the rationale that go beyond the conventional risk of clinical trials on investigational treatments. These range from the adequacy of different neuroanatomical targets, an unrefined analogy to DBS for Parkinson disease, to diverse hypothetical mechanisms of action and the question of clinically relevance of cut-offs for outcome measures like “pathological brain circuits”. In sum, we found many open questions amenable to neuroimaging or translational research, but also that the respective clinical trials started before these questions were thoroughly examined and before the scientific rationale was proven in rodents modelling the specific pathology of AD. Conclusion There is a continuum from therapeutic protectionism to experimental adventurism. Protectionism impedes scientific progress and hampers the development of new treatment options. However, uncertainties can also pose severe risks to participants. DBS as an investigational intervention for AD did not adhere to the same ethical requirements that are legally binding for pharmacological research in Germany. In particular, whether the evidence for the scientific rationale is sufficiently robust is questionable. DBS involves invasive neurosurgery and belongs to Class III of medical devices with the highest risk (European Parliament), but is less strictly regulated than pharmaceutical agents (largely voluntary agreement among industrial stakeholders and neurosurgeons is sufficient). Ethical evaluation hinges on empirical progress and technical innovation. It is therefore imperative to promote research in clinical neurophysiology and brain imaging with the clear research objective to find robust criteria for clinical relevance of pathological brain circuit aberrations in AD.

New Frontiers in Organizational Culture Research: Creating Conceptual Precision to Leverage Big Data

Even though scholars have long been interested in the role organizational culture plays in shaping individual, team, and organizational life, some argue that theory and empirical progress have been...

Language Learning Research at the Intersection of Experimental, Computational, and Corpus‐Based Approaches

Language Learning Research at the Intersection of Experimental, Computational, and Corpus‐Based Approaches