GLOBE Study Research Articles

Changes in perceived neighborhood social cohesion and self-assessed health: 17-year follow-up of the Dutch GLOBE study.

Prior research has indicated that residents who perceive their neighborhood as more cohesive have better mental and physical health than those with lower perceived neighborhood social cohesion. However, because most studies are based on cross-sectional data, it remains unclear whether improving the perceptions of social cohesion leads to better health over time. This study applied random effects within-between models to examine the within-individual and between-individual associations of perceived neighborhood social cohesion and poor self-assessed health (SAH) in a cohort of Dutch adults with 17-year follow-up. We also tested whether such associations varied by age, educational level, and gender. The results of pooled analyses indicated that higher perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with better SAH [odds ratio (OR): 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65, 0.80], but did not find conclusive evidence that within-individual changes in perceived neighborhood social cohesion were associated with SAH (OR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.89, 1.04). We also did not observe any moderating effects for age, educational level, or gender. This study provides some evidence that improving social cohesion in neighborhoods may be a beneficial health promotion strategy.

Understanding educational inequalities in sports participation through structurally based resources and individual agency - a sequential mediation analysis.

Educational inequalities in sports participation remain a public health issue in the Netherlands. Combining structurally based resources from Pierre Bourdieu's theory of capital with Amartya Sen's conceptualization of individual agency may offer new insights into the complex mechanisms that drive these inequalities. Specifically, we posited that the way individuals are able to exercise their agency within the structurally based economic, social, and cultural resources they have access to may help explain educational inequalities in sports participation.Data from two waves of the GLOBE study (2014, 2021) were used to test whether two sequential mediators, structurally based resources followed by individual agency, help explain the relationship between educational level and sports participation. Adults aged 25 and older residing in Eindhoven, the Netherlands self-reported highest attained educational level, structurally based resources (economic, social, and embodied cultural capital), individual agency (self-control, perceived choice, and reflexivity), and sports participation. A sequential mediation analysis using structural equation modelling was used to test the direct effect of education on sports participation, the sequential indirect effect through both mediators, and partial indirect effects through each mediator individually.Educational level was positively associated with sports participation. The hypothesized sequential mediation pathway was not supported; educational level was positively associated with structurally based resources and structurally based resources were positively associated with individual agency, but individual agency was not related to sports participation. Though not through individual agency, structurally based resources helped explain educational inequalities in sports participation.Having access to more economic, social, and cultural resources may empower individuals by increasing their agency. This increased agency was not associated with sports participation, which could be because sports participation is not universally valued as a goal. The conceptualization and operationalization of individual agency in the context of sports participation warrants more research. We found that structurally based resources helped explain a substantial portion of educational inequalities in sport, so we propose that policies alleviating more than just economic barriers to sports participation, but also social and cultural barriers, may help reduce educational inequalities in sports participation in the Netherlands.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Student-generated Scenario-based Questions as a Tool for Active Learning

Background: Active learning is not new as an educational philosophy and its benefits over passive learning modes are well known. In a competency-based framework, active learning is one of the key thrust areas. However, across the globe studies have shown that its implementation is wrought with challenges and limitations. The present study explored the implementation and effectiveness of an innovative technique of active learning where students in small groups of 5–6 construct structured scenario-based questions (SBQs) and learn in the process of making questions. Objectives: The study was done with the objective of assessing the effectiveness and feedback of student-generated SBQs as a method of active learning among medical students. Materials and Methods: Sensitization about the project was done followed by deciding the topics which could be covered with this method. The method was implemented in Physiology for Phase 1 MBBS students. During implementation, two small groups (25 students each) were randomly assigned into a “study group” and two into a “control group.” The students were given trigger topics, learning resources and then asked to make SBQs in sub-groups of 5–6. The questions were then opened to discussion, comments and answering by the peers. Knowledge obtained was compared by a pre-post analysis within-group using paired t-test. Between-group analysis was done using independent sample t-test. Feedback was collected both from faculty and students on a Likert Scale. Results: The study group recorded a statistically significant higher score (11.92 ± 2.2) after the activity as compared to control group (8.04 ± 2.24). Feedback received from participants and faculty was positive with a mean score of more than 4 on a 5-point Likert Scale for all items, except feasibility in which the faculty feedback score was 3.67. Out of 49 participating students, 31 students commented on qualitative feedback that it was engaging. More than half (26) students mentioned they “want more such sessions.” Conclusion: The present study showed that this activity can be implemented in small group teaching hours of the timetable. It retains the benefits of active learning both in terms of learning outcomes and experientially. It can also be used as a means to implement problem-based learning and early clinical exposure.

The Impact of Cultural Differences on Leadership Styles: A Systematic Literature Review

This study synthesizes the findings from a systematic literature review of 58 articles which then was curated into 18 articles, focusing on the relationship between personality traits and leadership effectiveness across different cultural contexts. The study aimed to explore how cultural differences influence the impact of personality traits on leadership outcomes. The literature review revealed that certain personality traits, such as extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience, are generally associated with effective leadership across cultures. However, cultural differences can significantly impact how these traits are perceived and valued in leaders. The study also highlighted the importance of considering cultural dimensions such as performance orientation, assertiveness, future orientation, humane orientation, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, gender egalitarianism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance in understanding leadership effectiveness across cultures. The GLOBE study, which examined leadership across 62 cultures, found that certain leadership styles, such as charismatic and group-oriented leadership, were generally effective across cultures, while others, like self-protective leadership, were less effective.Furthermore, the review emphasized the role of cultural variations in leadership styles, with different cultural clusters having distinct preferences for leadership communication styles. For example, the Middle Eastern cluster preferred a more traditional leadership profile that included attributes such as familial, humble, faithful, self-protective, and considerate. In conclusion, the study underscores the complex interplay between personality traits and cultural differences in shaping leadership effectiveness. Understanding these cultural variations is crucial for developing effective leadership strategies that can be applied globally.

The role of psychological distress in the relationship of financial strain with oral health and dental attendance in Dutch adults: A mediation analysis based on cross-sectional data.

The study aimed to assess whether psychological distress mediates the association between financial strain and oral health and dental attendance in the Dutch adult population. The study followed a cross-sectional design based on 2812 participants from the 2014 wave of the Dutch population-based GLOBE study. Financial strain was considered the exposure, while psychological distress measured with the Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5) was the mediator. The outcomes included self-reported number of teeth, self-rated oral health, and self-reported dental attendance. Generalized regression analyses were used for the mediation analysis adjusted for several covariables. Greater financial strain was significantly associated with poorer self-rated oral health (total effect: 0.09, 95%CI: 0.05; 0.14) and restorative or no dental attendance (i.e. participants never visiting a dentist or only visiting a dentist for regular treatments or when they have complaints with their mouth, teeth, or prosthesis) (total effect: 0.05, 95%CI: 0.02; 0.09). Greater financial strain was not significantly associated with self-reported number of teeth (total effect: -0.14, 95%CI: -0.91; 0.64). Psychological distress significantly mediated the association of financial strain with self-rated oral health (average causal mediation effect [ACME]: 0.02, 95%CI: 0.01; 0.03) and self-reported dental attendance (ACME: 0.01, 95%CI: 0.00; 0.02), respectively. However, it did not significantly mediate the association of financial strain with self-reported number of teeth (ACME: -0.11, 95%CI: -0.25; 0.02). The estimated proportion of the total effect of financial strain on self-rated oral health and self-reported dental attendance that could be explained by psychological distress was respectively 24% (95%CI: 14%; 48%) and 19% (95%CI: 6%; 62%). Psychological distress partly explains the association of financial strain with self-rated oral health and dental attendance, but not with self-reported number of teeth. Future studies using longitudinal data are necessary to confirm the results.

Role of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) in Mediating Antioxidant Response to a Glucoraphanin Rich Meal

Aging is associated with increasing oxidative stress and declining antioxidant defences, making the body susceptible to various chronic conditions. Cruciferous vegetables contain glucoraphanin, which is metabolised into sulforaphane (SFN) in the gut(1). SFN activates a mechanism enhancing antioxidant defences that may contribute to a reduction in risk of age-related chronic diseases. Our hypothesis proposes that consuming cruciferous vegetables releases hepatic extracellular vesicles (EVs), which carry with a cargo of antioxidant proteins, into the systemic circulation(2) that are transported to ‘at risk’ tissues. We seek to characterise the antioxidant protein content of EVs from blood samples of healthy human volunteers from a prospective dietary intervention study trial called (GLOBE). The GLOBE study employs a randomised, single-blind, two-arm crossover design and involves 12 healthy male or female adults aged >55 years, at the time of enrolment, have a BMI in the range of 18.5-30 kg/m2, and have self-reported healthy (are not suffering from current illness like cancer, and gastrointestinal diseases including coeliac, Crohn’s, colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome) and not using any medications like antacids, laxatives and antibiotics which can interfere with normal digestive or metabolic processes. The dietary intervention consists of two commercially available treatments, one of which is a glucoraphanin-rich vegetable soup, while the other vegetable soup lacks glucoraphanin. Our initial focus lies in optimizing and standardizing a method for routinely characterizing EVs derived from healthy volunteers participating in dietary intervention studies. We specifically aim to extract EVs from a minimal plasma volume (2ml) using size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Subsequently, we intend to employ this method to analyse EVs obtained from 161 plasma samples collected from 12 participants during the GLOBE study for different time points like 0, 120, 240, 360, 480 min, 24 and 48 hr. Our goal is to gain insight into the role of EVs as part of the mechanisms by which consuming a moderate quantity of cruciferous vegetables may confer health benefits. Our research carries the potential to establish a standardised approach to the characterisation of EVs from healthy individuals which has several applications in nutrition research.

The role of culture and government adaptability in determining countries‘ economic performance

This study is an addition to the body of research about the relationship between culture, governance, and national economic performance. Specifically, it focuses on the mediating role of government in the relationship between national culture and Gross Domestic Product growth. We utilize the GLOBE study’s eight cultural dimensions and the World Economic Forum’s Government Adaptability Index to conduct a cross-sectional analysis in fifty-seven countries. Our results indicate that institutionally collectivist and future oriented societies are more likely to have governments that are adaptable to economic and technological changes and, thus, have a greater capacity to stimulate the output per capita growth. Additionally, the results suggest that cultural dimensions are related to each other, and these relationships may improve national economic performance. The findings provide valuable insights into policy decision-making and leadership.

Is the association between financial scarcity and health behaviours moderated by cultural capital? The GLOBE study.

Experiencing financial scarcity taxes cognitive bandwidth. This leaves less capacity to withhold temptations and makes relying on easiest default options more likely. Whether this default option is (un)healthy may depend on the amount of cultural capital acquired during life course. This study examined whether the association between financial scarcity and health behaviours is moderated by cultural capital. Self-reported data were used from Dutch adults of the 2014-survey of the GLOBE study (N = 2466). Using linear regression analysis, financial strain (no, some, great) and cultural capital (institutionalized, objectivized, incorporated) were related to body mass index (BMI), alcohol intake, sports participation, cycling and walking, fruit intake and vegetable consumption. The interaction between financial strain and cultural capital was used to assess moderation. Experiencing some financial strain was associated with a higher BMI (0.7 kg/m2) and less sport participation (-31.8 min/week). Great financial strain was associated with less sport participation (-41.4 min/week). Being in the lowest tertile of cultural capital was associated with a higher BMI (1.3 kg/m2), drinking less alcohol (-10.0 units/week), less sport participation (-31.5 min/week) and consuming less fruit (-2.9 pieces/week). Cultural capital had no significant moderating effect on the relationship between financial strain and these health behaviours. Financial strain and cultural capital seem associated with different health behaviours. Cultural capital had no moderating effect on the relationship between financial strain and different health behaviours. While financial strain and cultural capital could both be entry points for interventions to improve health behaviour, underlying mechanisms require further attention.

Exploring the paradox of gender preferred leadership in Kenya: a GLOBE study on gender egalitarianism and women in leadership

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore gender gaps, values and practices in a Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country, specifically to identify gender inequality in Kenyan leadership and propose suggestions for advancing gender equity.Design/methodology/approachThis Kenya study replicated the research design of the Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness Project for gathering country data. It sampled middle and upper management in the commercial sector (finance and agriculture) and added the civic sectors of health care and education, using quantitative research (267 managers in over 100 organizations) and qualitative research design (30 interviewees from 23 organizations).FindingsGender had no apparent effect on leadership attributes nor on preferred modes of leadership. Statistical and thematic analysis revealed conflicting values and behaviours regarding gender equality and leadership. A high cultural dimension score on practices reflects a traditional leadership approach for male dominance, referred to as the Bwana Kubwa model. However, a high value score for gender equality reflects a more contemporary perspective, identified as the Inspirational Idealist. The gender gap presents a cultural paradox and a leadership constraint.Research limitations/implicationsThe Inspirational Idealist model advances African leadership theory as it identifies a preferred value-based paradigm of effective performance-based leadership. This is contrary to the prevalent patriarchal practices of the Bwana Kubwa (Big Boss) model, which reflects biased gendered preference.Practical implicationsMale and female leaders need to challenge the status quo and align leadership practices with the articulated cultural values expressed as an Inspirational Idealist model. It has considerable relevance to advancing African leadership theory and informing culturally relevant policies and contextualized practices focused on gender equity in leadership.Originality/valueThis research on practices and values pertaining to gender equality of Kenyan managers is the first in-depth managerial leadership study of any SSA country. It is unique in that it broadened the scope of study to include professional sectors, gender, age and ethnicity variables.

Does a relationship exist between GLOBE Study Leadership Behaviors and GDP per Capita and Happiness Indicators?

Does a relationship exist between GLOBE Study Leadership Behaviors and GDP per Capita and Happiness Indicators?

Does a relationship exist between GLOBE Study Leadership Behaviors and GDP per Capita and Happiness Indicators?

Does a relationship exist between GLOBE Study Leadership Behaviors and GDP per Capita and Happiness Indicators?

Parametric study on thermal management system for the range of full (Tesla Model S)/ compact-size (Tesla Model 3) electric vehicles

Electric vehicle is slowly taking over the market share of internal combustion engine vehicle around the globe and range extension study turns into a one key research area. Electric vehicle thermal management system plays a large role in driving range, whereas existing literature mainly focus on component level and lack the vehicle level range analysis. This study conducts a parametric study on the vehicle level thermal management and its impacts on the range of two vehicles (full size - Tesla Model S/ compact size – Tesla Model 3). Vehicle level thermal system model is built considering air conditioning refrigerant loop, indirect battery liquid cooling loop, and cabin cooling air loop. In addition, vehicle propulsion system model is built and utilized in the range simulation. Five feedback controllers are designed for the thermal management system to control the temperature of battery pack, cabin climate, condenser subcool, evaporator superheat, and chiller superheat. Various factors are considered in the parametric study including air conditioning system on/off switch, vehicle size, driving cycle, ambient temperature, cabin target temperature, and battery pack target temperature. In the results analysis, the performance of five feedback controllers is evaluated in step response and a driving cycle. Energy consumption of aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance, thermal management, regenerative braking, and auxiliary load are discussed in the parametric study. The results show that turning air conditioning system on could potentially reduce the EV range by 38–45 % at city driving condition. In addition, Ambient temperature shows significant nonlinear impact on EV range and the impact gets worse as temperature turns higher. For Tesla Model 3, when the ambient temperature rises from 30 °C to 35 °C and then to 40 °C, the range drops by 3.3 % and 13.4 %, respectively. Compared with ambient temperature, cabin temperature and battery pack temperature settings have less impact on the range. The code utilized in this study is made open source via Github (https://github.com/binxuAI/EV_TMS), which can be utilized as the guidance in the thermal management range impact analysis and concept design of electric vehicle.

Screening and identification of antioxidant active ingredients from red wine via spectrum-effect relationship analysis

Red wine was a prominent constituent of diets across the globe and modern pharmacological studies showed that red wine had the main function of antioxidant. However, the reported screening methods for active ingredients were inefficient and insensitive. In this research, 35 batches of red wine were used to establish the chromatography fingerprint, which were further utilized to screen and identify the antioxidant active ingredients through spectrum-effect relationship analysis. Indeed, the antioxidant capacity of red wine was evaluated by total antioxidant capacity assay kit (ABTS method). After evaluating the antioxidant capacity of samples, correlations were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and Gray Relational Analysis (GRA). Moreover, spectrum-effect relationships combined with ultrafast liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UFLC-Q-TOF/MS) revealed that the succinic acid, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, catechin, syringic acid, salicylic acid, homogentisic acid, ellagic acid, isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside, and trans- resveratrol show antioxidative efficacy. Collectively, the present study established the spectrum-effect relationship strategy of red wine and identified active antioxidant ingredients, which would give reasonable index components for the health function of red wine and provide reference for quick screening of bioactive compounds for food.

How National Culture Influences the Speed of COVID-19 Spread: Three Cross-Cultural Studies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 222 countries and territories around the globe. Notably, the speed of COVID-19 spread varies significantly across countries. This cross-cultural research proposes and empirically examines how national culture influences the speed of COVID-19 spread in three studies. Study 1 examines the effects of Hofstede's national cultural dimensions on the speed of COVID-19 spread in 60 countries. Drawing on the GLOBE study (House et al., 2004), Study 2 investigates how GLOBE cultural dimensions relate to the speed of the pandemic's spread in 55 countries. Study 3 examines the effect of cultural tightness in 31 countries. We find that five national cultural dimensions - power distance, uncertainty avoidance, humane orientation, in-group collectivism, and cultural tightness - are significantly related to the speed of COVID-19 spread in the initial stages, but not in the later stages, of the pandemic. Study 1 shows that the coronavirus spreads faster in countries with small power distance and strong uncertainty avoidance. Study 2 supports these findings and further reveals that countries with low humane orientation and high in-group collectivism report a faster spread of the disease. Lastly, Study 3 shows that COVID-19 spreads slower in countries with high cultural tightness.

The fit between GLOBE cultural dimensions, budget transparency and performance management across emerging economies

PurposeThere is a dearth of research that investigates the impact of national culture on budgeting and management indexes in the public sector across developing countries. Limited studies in accounting and management have explained the role of national culture in shaping organisational and individual values. It is posited that national cultural variables impact budget transparency and performance management. This study contributes to the literature by examining these relations in 16 developing countries.Design/methodology/approachAdopting an unbalanced timing framework, the current paper seeks to fulfill this gap and applies four cultural dimensions from the GLOBE study (House et al., 2004) as explanatory variables to investigate whether national culture is associated with budget transparency and performance management or not, particularly in the context of developing countries. The paper uses budget transparency as the first dependent variable, based on the OECD database from Qi and Mensah (2011), along with performance management as the second dependent variable, from the BTI Project (2016), according to the leadership's political performance management.FindingsGenerally, the empirical findings reveal a minimal relation among GLOBE cultural variables with budget transparency and performance management. Particularly, the empirical findings indicate that only performance orientation has a significant relation with budget transparency and performance management.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this paper suggest that any plan to improve a nation's budget transparency should consider the links between budgeting, performance management and the culture of those that run them.Originality/valueThe formal adoption of new methods by performance management may not be enough without accompanying efforts to transform performance orientation as an index of national culture.

“National context, school factors, and individual teacher characteristics: Which matters most for teacher collaboration?”

Merging the variables from the 2018 TALIS, the 2018 PISA, and the 2004 GLOBE study, the present research investigates the associations between contextual variables and teacher collaboration across national boundaries, which is essential to understand teacher collaboration in a broader context. Employing multi-level linear models, this study specified the variance in teacher collaboration related to teacher characteristics, school factors, and country policy and cultural variations, respectively. The results revealed that the teacher-level factors are associated with a significant proportion of variance in the outcome. Meanwhile, school culture, leadership, student composition, and country-level policy are influential for teacher collaboration.

Ikegami Eiko’s honorific individualism thesis – critique and development

The aim of this qualitative study is to test Ikegami Eiko’s “honorific individualism” thesis, which claims that the modernization of Japan was the result of a tension between honorific individualistic and collectivistic impulses in the dominant samurai culture, against our counter-hypothesis that the development of conscientious collectivism was the cause of modernization in Japan. We propose a multi-dimensional theoretical framework for the individualism-collectivism divide, and by applying this framework to the interpretation of the ethical discourse of the samurai it is possible to show that our counter-hypothesis is more successful in interpreting the historical data than Ikegami’s thesis. We furthermore test both theories against recent empirical data from the GLOBE study, and also this result supports our hypothesis that modern Japan is best characterized as a conscientious collective society. The driving force towards the modernization of Japan was therefore not honorific individualism (a combination of shame and egoism) but much more likely conscientious collectivism (a combination of guilt and altruism)

Coronavirus-Related Searches on the Internet Predict COVID-19 Vaccination Rates in the Real World: A Behavioral Immune System Perspective

According to the smoke detector and functional flexibility principles of human behavioral immune system (BIS), the exposure to COVID-19 cues could motivate vaccine uptake. Using the tool of Google Trends, we tested that coronavirus-related searches—which assessed natural exposure to COVID-19 cues—would positively predict actual vaccination rates. As expected, coronavirus-related searches positively and significantly predicted vaccination rates in the United States (Study 1a) and across the globe (Study 2a) after accounting for a range of covariates. The stationary time series analyses with covariates and autocorrelation structure of the dependent variable confirmed that more coronavirus-related searches compared with last week indicated increases in vaccination rates compared with last week in the United States (Study 1b) and across the globe (Study 2b). With real-time web search data, psychological scientists could test their research questions in real-life settings and at a large scale to expand the ecological validity and generalizability of the findings.

How National Culture Influences the Speed of COVID-19 Spread: Three Cross-Cultural Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected 222 countries and territories around the globe. Notably, the speed of COVID-19 spread varies significantly across countries. This cross-cultural research proposes and empirically examines how national culture influences the speed of COVID-19 spread in three studies. Study 1 examines the effects of Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions on the speed of COVID-19 spread in 60 countries. Drawing on the GLOBE study (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004), Study 2 investigates how GLOBE cultural dimensions relate to the speed of the pandemic’s spread in 55 countries. Study 3 examines the effect of cultural tightness in 31 countries. We find that five national cultural dimensions – power distance, uncertainty avoidance, humane orientation, in-group collectivism, and cultural tightness – are significantly related to the speed of COVID-19 spread in the initial stages, but not in the later stages, of the pandemic. Study 1 shows that the coronavirus spreads faster in countries with small power distance and strong uncertainty avoidance. Study 2 supports these findings and further reveals that countries with low humane orientation and high in-group collectivism report a faster spread of the disease. Lastly, Study 3 shows that COVID-19 spreads slower in countries with high cultural tightness.

Does a relationship exist between GLOBE Study Leadership Behaviors and GDP per Capita and Happiness Indicators?

Does a relationship exist between GLOBE Study Leadership Behaviors and GDP per Capita and Happiness Indicators?