Adolescents' experiences of victimization: the role of attribution style and generalized trust

Positive attribution style, negative attribution style, and generalised peer trust beliefs were examined as mediators in the relationship between adolescents’ peer victimisation experiences and psychosocial and school adjustment. Two hundred and eighty (150 female and 130 males, Mage = 13 years 4 months, SDage = 1 year 1 month) adolescents completed measures of peer victimisation, global self-worth, depressive symptoms, social confidence, school liking, loneliness, attribution styles, and generalised trust beliefs. Multigroup path analysis revealed that: (a) negative attribution style mediated the relationship between cyber victimisation and school liking and depressive symptoms for males and females; (b) positive attribution style mediated the relationship between cyber victimisation, school liking, global self-worth, and depressive symptoms for females; and (c) generalised peer trust beliefs mediated the relationship between social victimisation, depressive symptoms, social confidence, and loneliness for females. Consequently, attribution style and generalised trust beliefs differentially influence the relationship between peer victimisation and adjustment

When Friends Behave Badly: Loneliness and Children's Expectations of Friends and Responses to Transgressions

Previous research has shown that friendships buffer against loneliness, but some children remain lonely despite having best friends. The current study examines relationships between loneliness and friendship functions, expectations, and responses to friendship transgressions in children with best friends (8-11 years; N = 177). Children completed questionnaires that measured loneliness, fulfilment of friendship functions, friendship expectations, and the Transgressions of Friendship Expectations Questionnaire (MacEvoy & Asher, 2012). Findings in the current study showed that loneliness was associated with lower friendship expectations and higher reliable alliance in existing best friendships. Loneliness was also associated with lower sadness and lower perceptions of feeling controlled and devalued by their friend when they transgress. Thus, children with best friends experiencing high loneliness may be more permissiveness of friendship transgressions and may need support to ensure that they do not allow their friends to be unfair to them

Assessing crossnational invariance of the three-component model of organizational commitment:A cross-country study of university faculty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment in a cross-national context to identify if the effect of country-specific cultural orientation on organizational commitment of faculty in higher education functions invariably in different countries. Design/methodology/approach The work expands on Meyer and Allen’s (1991) three-component model of organizational commitment. It includes relevant literature review on ten countries and the results of a survey of university faculty members, assessing their institutions’ human resources practices and their effect on organizational commitment. Basic descriptive statistics were performed on nominal and interval data, means, medians, and standard deviations were computed, and tests of mean equivalence, including ANOVA tests, were performed. In certain instances, Pearson and Spearman correlations were computed to ascertain correlation, and χ2 tests for randomized response were used, while Cronbach’s α test helped to establish survey instrument validity. Findings Though certain differences may exist between different countries and cultures with respect to the three-component model of organizational commitment, there is strong evidence of the existence of invariance and, thus, generalizability of the model across cultures. Research limitations/implications Cultural studies have focused on differences in organizational commitment at national levels. Further attempts to identify the universality of factors leading to organizational commitment should account for culture in the study of employee-related globalization issues in higher education institutes. Knowledge of cultural impact is also useful from a managerial perspective, and for the design of relevant strategies. Practical implications National context plays a major role in shaping the nature of educational institutions. This study brings out the need for a deeper understanding of invariance in organizational commitment (inter-alia, through the three-component model). Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between organizational commitment and its various antecedents, including human resources management practices, for faculty in higher education institutes

An evidence-based assessment of the past distribution of Golden and White-tailed Eagles across Wales

Two species of eagles (Golden and White‐tailed) bred in Wales during prehistoric and historic times and became regionally extinct as breeding species in the mid‐1800s. They are iconic and charismatic, and discussions about reintroducing them back into the Welsh landscape have been ongoing for years. Reintroductions, however, can be risky, costly and/or contentious. To address these concerns, and to judge whether it is appropriate to reintroduce a regionally extinct species; the “International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)” have produced criteria by which a proposed reintroduction can be assessed. A key criterion is that the potential reintroduction location lies within the former range of the species. In this study, we addressed this criterion by assessing the past distributions of Golden and White‐tailed Eagles within Wales. Using historic observational data, fossil/archaeological records and evidence from place‐names in the Welsh language, we demonstrated strong evidence for the presence of both of these eagle species in Wales in pre‐historic and historic times. We used kernel density functions to model the likely core distributions of each species within Wales. The resulting core distributions encompassed much of central and west‐north Wales for both species, with the White‐tailed Eagle exhibiting a wider core distribution extending into south Wales. Our results fill knowledge gaps regarding the historic ranges of both species in Britain, and support the future restoration of either or both species to Wales

A homozygous MED11 C-terminal variant causes a lethal neurodegenerative disease

Purpose: The mediator (MED) multisubunit-complex modulates the activity of the transcriptional machinery, and genetic defects in different MED subunits (17, 20, 27) have been implicated in neurologic diseases. In this study, we identified a recurrent homozygous variant in MED11 (c.325C>T; p.Arg109Ter) in 7 affected individuals from 5 unrelated families. Methods: To investigate the genetic cause of the disease, exome or genome sequencing were performed in 5 unrelated families identified via different research networks and Matchmaker Exchange. Deep clinical and brain imaging evaluations were performed by clinical pediatric neurologists and neuroradiologists. The functional effect of the candidate variant on both MED11 RNA and protein was assessed using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and western blotting using fibroblast cell lines derived from 1 affected individual and controls and through computational approaches. Knockouts in zebrafish were generated using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9. Results: The disease was characterized by microcephaly, profound neurodevelopmental impairment, exaggerated startle response, myoclonic seizures, progressive widespread neurodegeneration, and premature death. Functional studies on patient-derived fibroblasts did not show a loss of protein function but rather disruption of the C-terminal of MED11, likely impairing binding to other MED subunits. A zebrafish knockout model recapitulates key clinical phenotypes. Conclusion: Loss of the C-terminal of MED subunit 11 may affect its binding efficiency to other MED subunits, thus implicating the MED-complex stability in brain development and neurodegeneration

Are children able to distinguish among the concepts of aloneness, loneliness, and solitude?

School-age children's ability to distinguish among the concepts of aloneness, loneliness, and solitude was the focus of this study. This ability has been largely neglected by researchers. Also, the relation of this ability with self-reported loneliness was examined. Individual interviews were conducted with 180 second, fourth, and sixth graders from Athens, Greece. Their responses were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. Results showed that school-age children were able to perceive the differences between aloneness and loneliness, although they frequently associated being alone with feeling lonely. Nearly half of them perceived the motivational dimension, which distinguishes voluntary from involuntary aloneness. The ability to recognise the existence of beneficial aloneness, that is, solitude, was extremely limited among second graders, but increased dramatically up to the beginning of adolescence. About two thirds of the total sample acknowledged the human desire to be alone. Girls were significantly more able than boys to perceive the differences between aloneness and loneliness, the motivational dimension, and the desire to be alone. More than two-thirds of the total sample had experienced loneliness, but this experience appeared to be unrelated to their understanding of the various aloneness concepts. Age and gender differences, as well as children's various justifications of their responses, are discussed in the framework of the existing theoretical and research literature on children's aloneness, loneliness, and solitude. © 2004 The International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood, Criteria for Adulthood, and Identity Development in Greek Studying Youth: A Person-Centered Approach

Little research has been conducted on emerging adulthood in Greece, although sociodemographic specificities and constraints due to financial crisis are expected to reinforce prolonged transition to adulthood in this Southern European country. Using a person-centered approach, the current study aimed to examine dimensions of emerging adulthood, criteria for adulthood, and identity development among studying youth in association with personal and structural variables (i.e., gender, age, living arrangement, work experience, steady romantic relationship status, and financial adversity). Participants were 814 university students (Mage = 19.9 years). Latent profile analysis yielded five profiles: anxious explorers in-between (29.90%), immature explorers (29.58%), emerging adults (18.30%), adult committers (12.58%), and blocked in transition (9.64%). Significant between-profile differentiation was found regarding all variables except from age and work experience. The results support the existence of emerging adulthood in Greece and indicate diverse paths to adulthood within the rather homogeneous population of studying youth in this country. © 2018 Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood and SAGE Publications

E-HRM adoption and usage: a cross-national analysis of enabling factors

The present study builds on diffusion of innovation (DOI) and institutional theories to address the current lack of cross-national studies on e-HRM adoption and usage. The core research question asks about the factors influencing e-HRM adoption and usage for HRM. We analysed direct effects related to country, organizational and HRM factors among 3815 organizations in 21 countries in a multilevel approach. The results largely supported the hypotheses. Specifically, national systems supporting innovative behaviours determine the extent of e-HRM adoption. The economic sector of activity, size, global competition and educational level were associated with e-HRM adoption and usage at the organizational level. Moreover, a strategic orientation of the HR function seems to be a prerequisite for e-HRM adoption and usage. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed