Nomination Procedure Research Articles

Supportive Parenting Buffers the Effects of Low Peer Acceptance on Children\u2019s Internalizing Problem Behaviors

BackgroundChildren who are not accepted in their peer group are at risk of developing internalizing problem behaviors. It is possible, however, that supportive parenting can provide a buffer against the detrimental effects of low peer acceptance.ObjectiveThis study examined maternal and paternal affection and psychological control as moderators of the association between children’s peer acceptance during the critical transition to primary school and level and subsequent development of internalizing problem behaviors from first to sixth grade.MethodA total of 608 children (264 girls, 344 boys) were rated by their teachers on their internalizing problems in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Children’s peer acceptance was measured in the first grade using a sociometric nomination procedure. At the same time point, mothers (n = 432) and fathers (n = 281) completed questionnaires measuring their levels of affection and psychological control.ResultsThe results of latent growth curve modelling showed, first, that on average children’s internalizing problems decreased over the school years. Second, peer acceptance was associated with the development of internalizing problems: the higher the peer acceptance, the bigger the decrease—and the lower the peer acceptance, the smaller the decrease—in the level of internalizing problems across time. However, high maternal affection provided a buffer against this impact of low peer acceptance. Among boys, low levels of maternal psychological control also provided a buffer against the effects of low peer acceptance. No significant results were found on the moderating role of fathers’ parenting styles.ConclusionOverall, the results suggested that mothers’ emotionally sensitive and supporting caregiving may protect children from the harmful long-term effects of low peer acceptance.

Language Abilities and Peer Rejection in Kindergarten: A Mediation Analysis

ABSTRACTRejection by peers has devastating effects on children’s social-cognitive development. As language difficulties have been found to be one of the underlying causes of peer rejection, the present study focused on the relation between these two variables. Specifically, this study was the first to test a hypothesized model connecting children’s level of receptive vocabulary knowledge to the extent to which they are rejected by their peers, through their ability to communicate effectively. A sample of N = 135 children (aged four to six) participated in the study. Their receptive vocabulary knowledge was assessed with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the level of oral communicative competence was measured using the Nijmegen Test for Pragmatics, and peer rejection was indicated by means of a nomination procedure. Research Findings: Outcomes of mediation analyses revealed that children’s receptive vocabulary knowledge was indirectly related to peer rejection, through oral communicative competence: Poor receptive vocabulary knowledge was associated with poor oral communicative competence, which was in turn related to a higher level of peer rejection. Gender was not a significant moderator in this model. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest the need to focus both on oral communicative competence and on receptive vocabulary knowledge when addressing peer rejection in kindergarten.

Peer-Collaborator Preferences of African American and White Sixth-Graders in Mathematics Classrooms

This study focused on academic and social correlates of collaborator preferences of African American and White sixth-graders in mathematics classrooms in fall and spring. Students’ appraisals of emotional risk were examined as a moderator. Nomination procedures identified collaborator preferences, group affiliations, and social centrality; students self-reported engagement and emotional risk; school records provided achievement scores. Results indicated students preferred group affiliates, but not exclusively, as collaborators. Students with greater centrality, achievement, and engagement received more nominations. In the fall, high achievers received more nominations when appraisals of risk were high; whereas, engaged students whose appraisals of risk were low received more nominations. Results are interpreted in relation to coordinating social and academic factors in peer collaboration.

An Outranking Multicriteria Method for Nominal Classification Problems with Minimum Performance Profiles

In recent years, nominal classification problems have gained importance, especially in the context of strategic management of organizations. In this sense, this paper presents a novel multicriteria nominal classification method, derived from the concepts of PROMETHEE, applied to use in problems characterized by minimum performance profiles (MMP) for the classes. The main advantages of this proposal are criterion and alternative flexibility for classes; robustness, because it uses the concepts of a well-known method (PROMETHEE); and usefulness, because many real situations are characterized by MMP for the classes. Moreover, a real-world example is presented: a retailer’s assignment in a bank, showing the applicability of the method. The proposal of a new multicriteria nominal classification method emerges from a need to devise a more flexible and realistic procedure for characterizing classes because the feature of criterion and alternative flexibility for classes has not been addressed in any extant multicriteria nominal classification procedure. The present proposal thereby endeavors to address this deficit in the multicriteria field.

Populair, afgewezen, genegeerd, controversieel of gemiddeld

Abstract Popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, or average: Do young children of different sociometric groups differ in their level of oral communicative competence? Children’s sociometric status refers to their position within the peer group and plays a major role in their future social-cognitive development. It is therefore important to investigate factors that are related to it. Although it has been suggested that one of these factors is children’s level of oral communicative competence, little attention has been paid to its potential role. Therefore, the present study investigated sociometric group differences in the level of oral communicative competence in a sample of N = 570 children in early childhood education. Sociometric status was measured using a nomination procedure. Based on peer nominations, children were categorized into five sociometric groups: (1) popular (generally well-liked), (2) rejected (generally disliked), (3) neglected (low visibility and neither liked nor disliked), (4) controversial (high visibility and both liked and disliked), and (5) average (at or about the mean on both likability and visibility). In addition, children’s level of oral communicative competence was assessed with the Nijmegen Test for Pragmatics. Results of multi-level analyses revealed significant sociometric group differences: Children who were rejected or neglected by their peers exhibited lower levels of oral communicative competence than average children. Based on these findings, early childhood teachers are encouraged to pay more explicit attention to the promotion of their pupils’ oral communicative competence.

Member communication as network structure: Relationship with task cohesion in sport

Recent research has found that perceived information exchange between sport team members was positively associated with greater task cohesiveness. The purpose of the current research (two studies) was to extend these findings and test if (a) the proportion of teammates with whom an athlete exchanges information and (b) the proportion of members in the group collectively who exchange information were associated with perceived task cohesion. Participants (N = 205) from intact teams in Study 1 identified the proportion of team members with whom they regularly exchanged information using a nomination procedure, and a one-way ANOVA was used to differentiate between three groups (i.e. athletes who identified that they interacted with a larger, moderate, and smaller proportion of teammates) in terms of task cohesion. Results revealed a significant group effect, partial η 2 = .16, p < .001. As predicted, those interacting with a larger proportion of teammates reported greater task cohesion than those interacting with a moderate and smaller proportion of teammates (all ps < .05). Using a hypothetical vignette design, a sample of team sport athletes (N = 177) in Study 2 read a team description and were presented with a corresponding communication network graphic that varied in overall network density. As hypothesised, those exposed to the team portrayed with higher network density reported higher anticipated task cohesion than those exposed to the lower network density team description vignette (p < .001).

ВПЛИВ ФЕНОМЕНУ ПОЛІТИЗАЦІЇ ЄВРОКОМІСІЇ НА ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОГО СОЮЗУ

Complex and comparative analysis of the election and nomination procedure of Commissioners and the President of the EU Commission has been made from the date of creation of the High Authority within the European Coal and Steal Community until the establishment of the modern EU Commission in accordance with the last amendments that have been made by the Lisbon Treaty. It is proved that due to the entering into force of the Maastricht Treaty, sharpening of the «democratic deficit» problem and because of other political processes at the beginning of 1990’s within the European Communities, European Parliament obtained ample powers and leverage on the functioning, election and nomination procedure of Сommissioners and the President of the EU Commission. It is emphasized that election and nomination procedure of Commissioners and the President of the EU Commission is sufficiently politicized and bureaucratized at the contemporary stage of the existence of the European Union. The definition of the phenomenon «politicization of the EU Commission» has been specified. It is outlined that the phenomenon of politicization of the EU Commission has both positive and negative consequences on the EU Commission and the EU as a whole. It is established that «politicization» of the EU Commission may cause disruption of the cornerstone principles on which the EU has been created, first of all those principles that are related to the theory of functionalism in International Law.

Identifying High School Freshmen with Signs of Emotional or Academic Risk: Screening Methods Appropriate for Students in Accelerated Courses

High school freshmen in accelerated courses have known risk and resiliency factors that should be considered within systematic efforts to monitor and promote student academic and emotional well-being. This study created and evaluated a multi-method approach to identify students in Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses with signs of risk mid-year in terms of stress, affective engagement, and academic performance. A total of 304 ninth grade students enrolled in AP/IB coursework and five AP/IB teachers at two public high schools in a southeastern state took part in the screening. Using the researcher-developed screening approach, a total of 117 students (38.5%) met criteria for risk in at least one academic or emotional area. These results were compared to those obtained using a teacher nomination form, which had been developed collaboratively by the teachers and researchers, that specified signs of emotional and academic risk. The teacher nomination procedure resulted in the identification of 39.3% of the at-risk student population (average sensitivity rate = 35.7% across teachers). Sensitivity of teacher nominations was higher when identifying academic risk (average = 59.9%) as compared to emotional risk (average = 27.9% and 39.6% of students with low school satisfaction and high stress, respectively). Findings support the collection of data from students (surveys of stress and school satisfaction) and school records (course grades) when identifying AP/IB students to consider for targeted services within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports.

Popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, or average: Do young children of different sociometric groups differ in their level of oral communicative competence?

AbstractChildren’s sociometric status refers to their position within the peer group and plays a major role in their future social development. It is therefore important to investigate factors that are related to it. To date, little attention has been paid to the potential role of oral communicative competence. The present study investigated sociometric group differences in the level of oral communicative competence in a sample of N = 570 children in early childhood education. Sociometric status was measured using a nomination procedure. Based on peer nominations, children were categorized into five sociometric groups: (1) popular (generally well‐liked), (2) rejected (generally disliked), (3) neglected (low visibility and neither liked nor disliked), (4) controversial (high visibility and both liked and disliked), and (5) average (at or about the mean on both likability and visibility). Children’s level of oral communicative competence was assessed with the Nijmegen Test for Pragmatics. Results of multi‐level analyses revealed significant sociometric group differences: children who were rejected or neglected by their peers exhibited lower levels of oral communicative competence than average children. Based on these findings, teachers in early childhood education are encouraged to pay more explicit attention to the promotion of their pupils’ oral communicative competence.

The role of National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) in strengthening national vaccine decision-making: A comparative case study of Armenia, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda

IntroductionImproving evidence informed decision-making in immunisation is a global health priority and many low and middle-income countries have established National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) as independent technical advisory bodies for this purpose. NITAG development and strengthening has received financial and technical support over the past decade, but relatively little evaluation. This study examined NITAGs in six low and middle-income countries (i.e. Armenia, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda), to examine functionality, quality of recommendation development, and integration with national decision-making bodies and processes. MethodsA mixed-method case-series design, used semi-structured interviews, NITAG meeting observations, and document review. Data were analysed thematically. ResultsFive NITAGs had been legally established with terms of reference and appeared well functioning, with Ghana’s in development. All NITAGs had standard operating procedures and nomination procedures to ensure a range of expertise, generally comprising 10–15 core, 1–5 secretariat, and several ex-officio members. Aside from economics, NITAGs reported a wide range of member expertise. Newer NITAGs had particular concerns about funding. Four used formal conflict of interest procedures, although some commented that implications were not always understood. NITAGs valued local data, and limited evidence suggested NITAG presence might reinforce data production through surveillance and local research studies. All observed meetings demonstrated due process and evidence-based decision-making processes were generally followed, with a critical role played by working-group data syntheses and assessments. NITAGs were seen as well integrated with ministry of health (MoH) decision-making and MoH interviewees were positive about NITAG contributions, indicating NITAGs had an important role. Collaboration with other bodies was more limited, but mitigated by NITAG members’ cross-membership in other bodies. ConclusionsNITAGs have an important and valued role within national immunisation decision-making. However, their position remains insecure, with the need for sustainable technical and financial support.

Competition vs. Searching as a Mechanism of the Rector’s Selection in Higher Education Institutions in Poland

Abstract Objective: This paper aims at looking at the mechanisms of rector’s appointment in public higher education institutions in Poland based on the analysis of the legislation binding since 2005 with reference to the latest changes. Methodology: Legislative analysis of the past and current regulations on the models of rector’s election was conducted, including mechanisms of nominating candidates in the Act on Higher education 2005, its amendments in 2011 and the Act on Higher education and Science in 2018. Literature review and empirical analysis of good practices were used. Findings: The issue of strengthening a rector’s position and professionalizing university management in the system of higher education is very important and being widely discussed in terms of governance reforms. Changes, new regulations, reforms depend on how they are implemented on the institutional level in terms of their strategical development and how they are supported and promoted by the executive head. The model of nominating and appointing the rector determines his relationship with the university board, senate and with academic community as well. In public higher education institutions in Poland the competition model is more burdensome than the model of election, it has numerous disadvantages and threats, and wasn’t applied by any university. New regulations in Poland make the process of nomination more important than before. In general, there are two main models of nominating candidates: an open procedure (open competition) and a closed one (e.g. searching, headhunting for senior executive staff in HR, in business sphere), each has their own strengths and weaknesses. In case of HEIs, both respect the principles of institutional autonomy, guaranteed to universities by the Polish Constitution and the law. It is an autonomous right of the academic community, of the university itself to define their own framework and nomination procedure. The model of executive search in nominating candidates can become more feasible and effective for professionalizing and improvement of the rector’s governance. Value Added: The model of rector’s appointment has a significant impact on the whole university performance. By professionalizing appointment mechanisms at all its stages, universities will improve university governance and introduce new quality of management. Recommendations: New regulations in higher education create possibilities for introducing into the academic practice the executive search as a mechanism for nominating candidates for a rector’s position in Polish universities.

„Der erste zu sein.“[1] – Über den ersten Medizinnobelpreis für Emil von Behring im Jahr 1901

Abstract“To be the first one.” – On the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Emil von Behring in 1901. The German immunologist Emil von Behring (1854–1917) is the first Nobel Prize laureate in physiology or medicine. Behring received the award in 1901 “for his work on serum therapy, especially its application against diphtheria” (official prize motivation). Behring's name was strongly connected with progress in the field of diphtheria research through various publications. This study contextualizes the awarding of Behring and shows that not only significant scientific and practical results made him primus inter pares in the eyes of the Nobel committee, but also factors like Behring's representation in the daily press and the broad public interest in diphtheria research. After the beginning of the industrial serum production in 1894, Behring was not only a “visible scientist” (Massimiano Bucchi), he was also portrayed as the “savior of the children” and so ranked among the “great men” (Michael Gamper) of his era. The paper argues that his public visibility and the popularity of “Behring's Diphtherie‐Heilmittel” became a strong argument in favor of Behring during the selection process of the first Nobel laureate. The first part of the paper discusses the Nobel Prize nomination procedure from the views of the scientific community. Drawing on personal papers of the extended Behring Archives, the second part focusses on Behring from a private perspective and sheds light on the meaning and importance of the award for Behring and his family.

Reducing the Computational Complexity of EEG Source Localization With Cortical Patch Decomposition and Optimal Electrode Selection.

Real-time implementation of EEG source localization can be employed in a broad area of applications such as clinical diagnosis of neurologic diseases and brain-computer interface. However, a power-efficient, low-complexity, and real-time implementation of EEG source localization is still challenging due to extensive iterations in the solutions. In this study, two techniques are introduced to reduce the computational burden of the subspace-based MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. To shrink the exhaustive search inherent in MUSIC, the cortex is parsed into cortical regions. A novel nomination procedure involving a dictionary learning step will pick a number of regions to be searched for the active sources. In addition, a new electrode selection algorithm based on the Cramer-Rao bound of the errors is introduced to pick the best set of an arbitrary number of electrodes out of the total. The performance of the proposed techniques were evaluated using simulated EEG signal under variation of different parameters such as the number of nominated regions, the signal to noise ratio, and the number of electrodes. The proposed techniques can reduce the computational complexity by up to $90\%$. Furthermore, the proposed techniques were tested on EEG data from an auditory oddball experiment. A good concordance was observed in the comparison of the topographies and the localization errors derived from the proposed technique and regular MUSIC. Such reduction can be exploited in the real-time, long-run, and mobile monitoring of cortical activity for clinical diagnosis and research purposes.

The Nomination Procedure of the Officials of the City of Polotsk in 1498–1563 (English)

The Nomination Procedure of the Officials of the City of Polotsk in 1498–1563 (English)

Staying active and focused? The effect of parliamentary performance on candidate renomination and promotion

A large body of literature has focused on potential causes and consequences of candidate nomination procedures. One of the received wisdoms in this literature is that loyalty to the party leadership in centralized systems and personal vote-earning attributes in decentralized systems rank in priority for representatives’ career prospects. However, the determinants of candidate nomination in countries with centralized nomination procedures have been significantly undertheorized, due in part to the implicit assumption that party loyalty outweighs any other factor in determining career decisions. We close this gap by analyzing nomination and promotion decisions in Turkey, a closed-list PR system with highly centralized nomination procedures. We argue that representatives’ parliamentary performance such as parliamentary activeness and issue concentration influence parties’ nomination and promotion decisions. Utilizing original data sets of biographies of 1100 MPs who served in parliament between 2002 and 2011, and over 18,000 parliamentary speeches and 1040 bill cosponsorships, we estimate empirical models that are explicitly derived from the underlying theoretical model and find evidence that party leaderships favour incumbents who make more speeches and who display higher issue concentration, while penalizing electorally safe incumbents who seek legislative influence through private members’ bills (PMBs). Results offer important implications for the study of intraparty politics and parliamentary behaviour in general, and candidate nomination in particular.

Citizen Participation in Vietnam’s Local Government: Impact on Transparency and Accountability

Around the world, a growing crisis of legitimacy and complex problem solving characterize a sense of change in the state-citizen relationship. In Vietnam, the Doi Moi (renovation) process was carried out by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Government of Vietnam (GoV). Public institutions engaged at grassroots level by implementing a decree on “Regulation on Democracy Exercise” with the vision of a participatory society to improve the living standard of the Vietnamese people in general in order to enhance public service specifically. This article conceptualizes the concepts of Citizen Participation, Transparency, and Accountability in Vietnam. In the contested debates of the link between citizen participation and the two governance aspects, transparency and accountability, the article realizes the importance of achieving the balance from both sides of practice, as well as strengthen institutions that can reduce inefficiency and have real effectiveness. The fact that Vietnam just embarked on experimenting with policy initiatives encourages stronger citizen participation. Importantly, citizens participate in a number of elections for their delegates to local and national legislatures. One specific characteristic of public participation in Vietnam is that citizens somewhat are limited in participation by the nomination procedures and restriction in institutions. The article as a brief literature review on citizen participation and establishes the linkages between these three concepts. It reviews policy mechanisms for citizen participation and central-local power relationship. It stresses two main findings after performing sufficient empirical evidences. First, it argues that citizen participation can be an engine of good governance in local public institutions in Vietnam. Once policy window provides the population some space for their participation, it assures a widening scale of an efficient governing system. It founds that transparency and accountability of local governments are two outcomes of citizen participation.

Introduction to the Special Issue: 20th-Century Origins and 21st-Century Developments of Peer Nomination Methodology.

This issue of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development looks at current practices and recent advances in peer nomination methodology. Peer nominations provide a key method for assessing relationships, social status, and interpersonal behavior. This introductory article begins with a history of peer nomination methods, with a focus on the early origins of peer informant measures and the nature of Moreno's (1934) sociometric methodology (highlighting fundamental differences from the modern sociometric procedure). Next, the article addresses major changes that have occurred in peer nomination research over the course of the past 2 decades, including the recent focus on popularity and relational aggression, statistical advances, logistical challenges and innovations, and the changing conventions of the nomination procedure itself. The final section includes a brief overview of the articles included in this issue.

Methodological Choices in Peer Nomination Research.

Although peer nomination measures have been used by researchers for nearly a century, common methodological practices and rules of thumb (e.g., which variables to measure; use of limited vs. unlimited nomination methods) have continued to develop in recent decades. At the same time, other key aspects of the basic nomination procedure (e.g., whether nonparticipants should be included as nominees, the consequences of pairing code numbers with names on rosters) are underdiscussed and understudied. Beyond providing a general introduction to peer nomination methods and their utility, the current article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various methodological choices facing researchers who wish to use peer nomination methods, in addition to other considerations that researchers must make in collecting peer nomination data (e.g., establishing reliability and validity, maximizing participation rates, computerized assessments). This article provides recommendations for researchers based on empirical findings (where possible) and the typical practices used in the recent published literature.

Sad and Rabid Puppies: Politicization of the Hugo Award Nomination Procedure

Originally a conservative genre, in the second half of the twentieth century, science fiction (sf) became a discourse whose progressive presentation of virtually all controversial political issues and critical questioning of the political status quo have remained unmatched in the so-called popular culture, among others. There is no other literary convention that so boldly challenges such issues as racism, sexism, social justice, and ecological devastation. However, the progressive stance of many science fiction writers, editors, and readers has been, in recent years, challenged by loose coalitions of groups calling themselves Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies, who have acted against what they perceive as the repression of more traditional voices in science fiction communities. The paper will seek to explore recent political shifts within the science fiction fandom, with regard to oppression involving gender, class, race, and ethnicity. I will provide an account of the fandom’s political tensions, disentangle some of the convoluted discussions that have taken place across blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook pages of those involved in these debates, and specifically address the controversies related to the 2014 and 2015 Hugo Awards. I will also attempt to illuminate the violent conservative backlash that the aforementioned groups launched against the perceived political correctness and repression of certain viewpoints within sf communities.

Peer relationships of left-behind children in China moderate their loneliness

We examined peer relationships and loneliness of children who have experienced separation from their parent(s) and compared them with children who have never had that experience. Chinese boys and girls (N = 232) aged 10 to 14 completed the Children's Loneliness Scale and the Friendship Quality Questionnaire, and were asked to complete a peer nomination procedure designed to measure peer acceptance status. Results showed that 127 (54.7%) of the survey participants had experienced separation from their parent(s) because of parental migration for work (left-behind children). The score for loneliness was higher in the group of left-behind children than in children without left-behind experience, but the scores of the two groups did not differ either on friendship quality or for peer acceptance status. Moreover, among the group of children who had experience of being left behind, their loneliness scores were highly correlated with their scores for both friendship quality and peer acceptance status, but among the group who had no experience of being left behind there was a high correlation of their loneliness score only with their friendship quality score.