Strategic Niche Management (SNM) beyond sustainability. An exploration of key findings of SNM through the lens of ICT and privacy

Recently the governance of socio-technical transitions to sustainability is gaining attention in the field of innovation studies. One particular approach is that of Strategic Niche Management (SNM), which advocates the creation of protected space to experiment with radically new sustainable socio-technical practices. This paper contributes by asking whether this approach is also useful for analysis and governance of other types of socially desirable change. This question is addressed through a review of six key-findings of Strategic Niche Management and an original case study in the field of Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies for mobile payment. The social value at stake in this case is not sustainability but privacy. We draw three main conclusions. First, we find that the key-findings and concepts in SNM for sustainability are helpful to understand and interpret much of the data collected for the NFC case and privacy. However, there are notable differences in each of the key-findings, i.e findings related to a) the local-global distinction in SNM, b) expectations, c) social networks, d) learning, e) protection, and f) niche-regime interactions. Second, in relation to governance, the role of sustainability values (being a promising value to pursue) and privacy values (being a bottom-line value to defend) are notably different. Third, these differences result in different roles of public bodies in niche development. The paper ends with discussing the consequences for SNM for sustainability research and future research topics.Strategic Niche Management, sustainability, NFC, mobile payment, privacy

It\u27s Not \u3ci\u3eWhat\u3c/i\u3e Was Said - But \u3ci\u3eHow\u3c/i\u3e It Was Said

Key Findings Individuals chose a favorable outcome for a new company, new product, or new employee significantly less often after hearing advocating messages from nonnative accented speakers as opposed to from speakers with standard American accents. What\u27s more, those individuals who hold a stronger pro-American bias are even more likely to approve of its content when spoken by American Speakers who do not speak with a foreign accent. Those with low pro-American bias showed no such choice preference. Non-standard accented messages may violate expectations regarding business norms and may therefore be distracting to listening. Although recent research by Huang and colleagues (2013) suggests that individuals with nonnative accents may be passed over for promotion because of stereotyping regarding ability or competence, there was no support for this theory in this research

Work ethic and economic development: an investigation into Weber's thesis

This paper argues that the capitalist spirit associated with Max Weber’s Protestant Ethics is not associated with Protestantism but with the modernization phase of economic development. A preference for hard work is also found amongst other religions and non-religious people at times of high economic growth and decreases after the modernization phase. We find a robust relationship between the level and growth of economic development during an individual’s childhood and this individual’s work ethic. An epidemiological approach is applied to indicate that the direction of the relationship runs from growth and the level of economic development at the time values are formed, to work ethic. Protestant adherence has a positive relation with work ethic, but this relation is less robust than economic development

Translation Mechanisms in Socio-Technical Niches. A case study of Dutch river management

This paper makes three contributions to the field of transition research. First, it sheds light on how the concept of translation can contribute to a better understanding of agency in niche development. Second, it articulates how the local-global distinction in the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) approach relates to the levels in the Multi-Level Perspective. Third, the article is empirically novel by presenting a radical sustainable innovation in Dutch water management (‘New Rivers’).Sustainability transitions, translations, strategic niche management, river management

The Children’s Attention Project: A community-based longitudinal study of children with ADHD and non-ADHD controls.

NHMR

Improving survey response rates from parents in school-based research using a multi-level approach

BACKGROUND: While schools can provide a comprehensive sampling frame for community-based studies of children and their families, recruitment is challenging. Multi-level approaches which engage multiple school stakeholders have been recommended but few studies have documented their effects. This paper compares the impact of a standard versus enhanced engagement approach on multiple indicators of recruitment: parent response rates, response times, reminders required and sample characteristics. METHODS: Parents and teachers were distributed a brief screening questionnaire as a first step for recruitment to a longitudinal study, with two cohorts recruited in consecutive years (cohort 1 2011, cohort 2 2012). For cohort 2, additional engagement strategies included the use of pre-notification postcards, improved study materials, and recruitment progress graphs provided to school staff. Chi-square and t-tests were used to examine cohort differences. RESULTS: Compared to cohort 1, a higher proportion of cohort 2 parents responded to the survey (76% versus 69%; p < 0.001), consented to participate (71% versus 56%; p < 0.001), agreed to teacher participation (90% versus 82%; p < 0.001) and agreed to follow-up contact (91% versus 80%; p < 0.001). Fewer cohort 2 parents required reminders (52% versus 63%; p < 0.001), and cohort 2 parents responded more promptly than cohort 1 parents (mean difference: 19.4 days, 95% CI: 18.0 to 20.9, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These results illustrate the value of investing in a relatively simple multi-level strategy to maximise parent response rates, and potentially reduce recruitment time and costs

Periodic revisions of the international choices criteria: Process and results

Unhealthy diets contribute to an increased risk of non-communicable diseases, which are the leading causes of deaths worldwide. Nutrition policies such as front-of-pack labeling have been developed and implemented globally in different countries to stimulate healthier diets. The Choices Programme, including the International Choices criteria, is an established tool to support the implementation of such policies. The Choices criteria were developed to define the healthier choices per product group, taking saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium, sugars, energy, and fiber into account. To keep these criteria updated, they are periodically revised by an independent international scientific committee. This paper explains the most important changes resulting from revisions between 2010 and 2016 and describes the process of the latest revision, resulting in the International Choices criteria version 2019. Revisions were based on national and international nutrition and dietary recommendations, large food composition databases, and stakeholders’ feedback. Other nutrient profiling systems served as benchmarks. The product group classification was adapted and new criteria were determined in order to enhance global applicability and form a credible, intuitively logical system for users. These newly developed criteria will serve as an international standard for healthier products and provide a guiding framework for food and nutrition policies. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

The influence of personality and ability on undergraduate teamwork and team performance

The ability to work effectively on a team is highly valued by employers, and collaboration among students can lead to intrinsic motivation, increased persistence, and greater transferability of skills. Moreover, innovation often arises from multidisciplinary teamwork. The influence of personality and ability on undergraduate teamwork and performance is not comprehensively understood. An investigation was undertaken to explore correlations between team outcomes, personality measures and ability in an undergraduate population. Team outcomes included various self-, peer- and instructor ratings of skills, performance, and experience. Personality measures and ability involved the Five-Factor Model personality traits and GPA. Personality, GPA, and teamwork survey data, as well as instructor evaluations were collected from upper division team project courses in engineering, business, political science, and industrial design at a large public university. Characteristics of a multidisciplinary student team project were briefly examined. Personality, in terms of extraversion scores, was positively correlated with instructors’ assessment of team performance in terms of oral and written presentation scores, which is consistent with prior research. Other correlations to instructor-, students’ self- and peer-ratings were revealed and merit further study. The findings in this study can be used to understand important influences on successful teamwork, teamwork instruction and intervention and to understand the design of effective curricula in this area moving forward