Reflections on Racial Identity and the Black Movement in the United States and Brazil

These reflections are based on a long history of study and involvement in the Black movement in the United States, on friendships with militants in the Brazilian Black movement, and on study of that movement. They arise directly from musings occasioned by comments made by an undergraduate white student in my course, Politics of the African Diaspora, and by my observation of a couple on the Avenida Sete de Setembro in Salvador, Bahia

Political Consciousness as a Component of Black Consciousness in Brazil: Its Presence in the Popular Media

The purpose of this paper is to describe the extent to which political consciousness may be found as a component of Black consciousness within a sampling of the Brazilian popular press, and to suggest some significance of that description for the political lives af[of] Afro-Brazilians. In the first section the paper identifies the popular press reviewed and examines the relationship between the popular press and the Afro-Brazilian population. Next, the relationship between Black consciousness and Black political consciousness is discussed, including the significance of that relationship for this paper. It examines the role of the cultural question in some detail. Thirdly, the paper sets forth its working definitions, including those of Black consciousness and Black political consciousness, among others. The paper illustrates how each of those definitions plays out in the general findings and reaches some conclusions on their significance

[Review of] Leland T. Saito. Race and Politics: Asian Americans, Latinos, and Whites in a Los Angeles Suburb

This book is a testament to the maturity of ethnic studies curricula. They were developed by activist students, primarily of Asian, Native American, African, and Latino ancestry, and by faculty members who had no formal training in ethnic studies because the discipline did not exist. The faculty who participated in the creation of ethnic studies curricula were scholars with an interest in this emerging field or people who by dint of race were deemed to have interests in the field. By training they were primarily historians, English department faculty, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and art and drama department faculty. There was no shared corpus of work, methodology, or background among them

R&D Investment Level and Environment as Predictors of Firm Acquisition

R&D investments contribute to the development of firm technology resources, and the possession of such resources often increases a firm’s attractiveness as a potential acquisition target. However, the value ascribed to a firm’s technology resources by would-be acquirers may be moderated by its industry’s environmental characteristics. Using data from 2886 firms, we find that investments in R&D predict acquisition likelihood and that R&D investments are most strongly associated with acquisition of firms under conditions of high environmental munificence and dynamism. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

[Review of] Verad Amit-Talai and Caroline Knowles, eds. Re-Situating Identities: The Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

While the lead title of this book, Re-Situating Identities, is entirely on target, the subtitle, The Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture, is far off the mark. The book is primarily about identity. It has precious little to do with politics. This might be apparent from the contributors, whom the editors identify as sociologists, anthropologists, and cultural theorists. There is not a political scientist among them. The omission, however, is not necessarily indicative of an absence of politics, because sociologists, anthropologists, and cultural theorists often write good politics. That is not the case in this instance. Though the editors make allusions to the politics of scholars and postmodernists and though there are references to politics in some of the articles, this book is not a study of politics

Complementary Resources and the Exploitation of Technological Innovations

Technological innovation often results when the resources of a small firm are combined with those of a large one. This is because small and large firms characteristically possess complementary resources whose combination can facilitate innovation success. The possession of complementary innovation-producing resources by small and large firms helps explain patterns of interaction among firms in dynamic, technology-based industries. Propositions are developed that outline how typical resources of small and large firms can be used to explain industry-level phenomena surrounding technological change

Meta-analyses of Post-acquisition Performance: Indications of Unidentified Moderators

Empirical research has not consistently identified antecedents for predicting post-acquisition performance. We employ meta-analytic techniques to empirically assess the impact of the most commonly researched antecedent variables on post-acquisition performance. We find robust results indicating that, on average and across the most commonly studied variables, acquiring firms’ performance does not positively change as a function of their acquisition activity, and is negatively affected to a modest extent. More importantly, our results indicate that unidentified variables may explain significant variance in post-acquisition performance, suggesting the need for additional theory development and changes to M&A research methods

Normative data on cognitive measures of depression.

The assessment of cognition and cognitive change is important for case conceptualization, monitoring the efficacy of specific interventions, and evaluating treatment outcome in cognitive-behavioral therapy. Unfortunately, a paucity of normative data exists on cognitive measures used for psychotherapy outcome research in depression, and little information is available to guide a practitioner\u27s understanding of the magnitude and clinical significance of a patient\u27s cognitive change. This article presents normative data on 6 self-report instruments that assess negative and positive automatic thoughts, hopelessness, cognitive biases and errors, and dysfunctional attitudes. Normative data were derived from studies published from the date of inception of a given cognitive index to the year 2000. Recommendations for the use of these normative data are provided

Measuring Cognitive Errors: Initial Development of the Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS)

The ability to assess and correct biases in thinking is central to cognitive-behavioral therapy. Although measures of cognitive distortions exist, no measure comprehensively assesses the cognitive errors that are typically cited in the literature. The development and initial validation of the Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS), a questionnaire that measures the tendency to make 10 cognitive distortions (e.g., mindreading, catastrophizing, all-or-nothing thinking) as they occur in interpersonal and achievement domains, is described. Across two studies, undergraduate students (n = 318) completed the CDS and other clinically relevant measures. The CDS and its two subscales appear to exhibit good psychometric properties; however, a factor analysis supported the use of a one-factor solution. Additional analyses suggested that some errors occur more frequently in some domains than others and that some errors may have more clinical significance than others. Notwithstanding issues inherent in measuring cognitive errors, and study limitations, the CDS appears to be a promising new measure of cognitive distortion, with good research and clinical potential

A meta-analysis of CBT for pathological worry among clients with GAD.

Previous meta-analyses assessing the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) used general measures of anxiety to assess symptom severity and improvement (e.g., Hamilton Anxiety Ratings Scale or a composite measure of anxiety). While informative, these studies do not provide sufficient evidence as to whether CBT significantly reduces the cardinal symptom of GAD: pathological worry. The current meta-analysis employed stringent inclusion criteria to evaluate relevant outcome studies, including the use of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire as the main outcome variable. Results showed a large overall effect size (ES) that was moderated by age and modality of treatment. Specifically, the largest gains were found for younger adults and for individual treatment. Analyses also revealed overall maintenance of gains at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Clinical implications of different treatment packages are discussed, as well as potential explanations for the differential effectiveness of CBT