Do statistical myths and urban legends matter for the sustainability of strategy research? : the case of moderation analysis

Statistical and methodological myths and urban legends (MULs) are perpetuated truisms which in reality are not true. It is widely believed that MULs can perpetuate incorrect methodological decisions, lead to misapplications of analyses, produce inaccurate inferences and provide errant guidelines for reviewers and editors who decide on the merit of manuscripts. However, other than identifying the practices that can lead to MULs and documenting their likely existence, few if any studies have considered their implications for theory development. In the present study, we test whether an MUL associated with using hierarchical linear regression analysis to test moderation can lead to differences in findings and influence conclusions: we address two questions in particular: (1) Did strategy scholars employing hierarchical linear regression interpret and make conclusions regarding main effect coefficients separately from significant interaction terms and (2) would the findings change if such an interpretation would have been made jointly with significant interactions? Based on a content analysis of SMJ articles, we find that MULs are present with respect to testing moderation and that they could adversely influence results and proposed implications for theory and knowledge development. We find that MULs matter in strategic management research and could shape the sustainability of its knowledge base

Preliminary investigation for the development of an hydro-electric plant Okanagan Valley British Columbia

The Okanagan Valley of British Columbia extends one hundred and thirty-nine miles North from the International Boundary and is immediately West of the Gold Range, an off-shoot of the Rockies ... The suitability of the soil and climate for growing fruit and other special crops has long been recognised; and in the favoured localities, where water is easily obtainable for irrigation, great advance has been made in the last ten years in this direction ... In a mountainous country, where water is abundant and power is needed for transportation, lighting town, and running factories, the natural result is an investigation for the development of an hydro-electric plant --Introduction, Pages 1-2

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-RIGHT TO COUNSEL

The appellant, a person with a long criminal record, was convicted of receiving and concealing stolen goods. At the trial the attorney appointed by the court to represent him presumably had enough time to prepare a defense but conducted it in a slipshod manner. He failed to object to the admission of important evidence not legally admissible; he failed to see that a witness whom the accused described as important was subpoenaed into court; he objected to none of the prejudicial statements of the trial judge which in effect attacked the credibility of the accused, and he criticized his own client before the jury. Held, a fair trial consistent with due process of law requires that the accused have more than the perfunctory representation by counsel shown by this case. Wilson v. State, (Ind. 1943) 51 N. E. (2d) 848

Embodied cognitive evolution and the cerebellum

Much attention has focused on the dramatic expansion of the forebrain, particularly the neocortex, as the neural substrate of cognitive evolution. However, though relatively small, the cerebellum contains about four times more neurons than the neocortex. I show that commonly used comparative measures such as neocortex ratio underestimate the contribution of the cerebellum to brain evolution. Once differences in the scaling of connectivity in neocortex and cerebellum are accounted for, a marked and general pattern of correlated evolution of the two structures is apparent. One deviation from this general pattern is a relative expansion of the cerebellum in apes and other extractive foragers. The confluence of these comparative patterns, studies of ape foraging skills and social learning, and recent evidence on the cognitive neuroscience of the cerebellum, suggest an important role for the cerebellum in the evolution of the capacity for planning, execution and understanding of complex behavioural sequences—including tool use and language. There is no clear separation between sensory–motor and cognitive specializations underpinning such skills, undermining the notion of executive control as a distinct process. Instead, I argue that cognitive evolution is most effectively understood as the elaboration of specialized systems for embodied adaptive control

WILLS-TESTATOR\u27S MISTAKE AS TO LEGAL EFFECT

Testator left the residue of his estate in trust for the benefit of his son, payments to be made in the trustee\u27s discretion. No express provision was made for the disposition of the corpus of the trust in case of the son\u27s death. The contestant, who was one of the testator\u27s heirs, claimed the testator never would have executed such a will had his lawyer informed him that the contestant might be excluded from the remainder interest on the son\u27s death under the rule laid down in Clyde v. Lake. Held: The will stands. There was no showing that the testator would have done otherwise. Furthermore, even· if the attorney had drawn the will in conflict with the instructions he received from his client, the will would nevertheless be valid if the testator knew and approved its contents. It is immaterial that he mistook the legal effect of the language used or that he acted upon the mistaken advice of counsel. Leonard v. Stanton, (N.H. 1944), 36 A(2d) 271