The Mystique of Macro-Boycotting Behaviour: A Conceptual Framework

In spite of the aim of the World Trade Organization and other international organizations to foster international trade and development by lessening protectionism agendas worldwide, there has been a rise in consumer boycotting behaviour at a macro level involving campaigns directed against foreign products from countries embroiled in conflicts in international relations, rather than against products from individual companies perceived to have engaged in a domestic egregious act. While campaigning at this level is becoming a more effective tool for consumer protest, as it negatively affects both the boycotted countries’ macroeconomics and companies’ micro-competitiveness, consumer motivations to participate in macro-level boycotts has so far been overlooked in the boycotting literature. This paper examines consumers’ behavioural intentions to participate in macro-boycotting campaigns within the context of an Arab country, which has recently witnessed a number of campaigns of this nature. Using the theory of planned behaviour the findings of an exploratory qualitative study of Egyptian consumers offer insights into the motives and barriers to individual macro-boycott participation. Findings are discussed together with managerial implications

Young Adults and Civic Behavior: The Psychosocial Variables Determining It

The present work has a two-fold aim: (a) to verify the difference in civic behavior enacted by socially engaged young people in a last- ing and structured form, sealed by membership in an organiza- tion, on the one hand, and in non-engaged young people, on the other hand; (b) to identify a pattern of characteristics (per- sonal, social, and familial) able to explain civic behavior. Participants, 577 young adults from ages 19 to 29, filled out a self-report questionnaire. The results of the t test for independent samples confirm the presence of the difference between means of scores on the civic behavior. Moreover, data confirm a model in which civic behavior is predicted by personal identity, engagement values, family discussion of current events, the quality of previous membership experiences in socially oriented groups (membership), and finally, in a mediator position, by sense of community. The present study has many implications for researchers and practitioners

Neurobiology of speech production

Speaking is a dynamic process in which neural representations associated with language and the constantly changing vocal tract configurations used to produce speech are seamlessly integrated to communicate. This integrative process requires a stable repertoire of motor routines and associated flexible sensorimotor and cognitive processes for speech preparation, execution, and monitoring. The development of neurobiologically plausible models of speech production requires an understanding of the role and contribution of both central and peripheral factors in the acquisition, maintenance, and reorganization of the brain-behavior patterns underlying speech production. Recent advances in brain imaging and neuromodulation methods, signal processing, and data analysis techniques have provided new insights into the organization of the brain networks and brain-behavior relations, leading to more comprehensive and more realistic models of speech production. In this chapter we identify the set of processes that are involved in producing speech and their neural substrate