Using Visual Impact Metaphors to Stimulate Environmentally Friendly Behavior: The Roles of Response Efficacy and Evaluative Persuasion Knowledge

ABSTRACT

Although people often are aware of the importance of adopting environmentally friendly lifestyles, they might be reluctant to do so as they believe that their actions do not make a difference (i.e. low response efficacy). Furthermore, they might experience reactance (e.g. negative attitudes) towards environmental messages that encourage them to adopt an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Therefore we experimentally tested whether it is possible to stimulate people to adopt an environmentally friendly lifestyle (i.e. recycle more clothing) by using visual impact metaphors that convey the message that old clothes deserve a new life. The findings show that a message in the form of a visual impact metaphor (vs. no visual impact metaphor) results in more positive attitudes towards recycling and stronger recycling intentions. This effect was mediated by two different underlying mechanisms: Response efficacy and more positive attitudes towards the persuasive attempt (i.e. positive evaluative persuasion knowledge).     

外语教学中应注重中西文化差异

外语教学旨在提高学生的语言交际能力,而用之于交际的语言又是某种文化的反映.文化干扰是教学的难题之一.因而,大学英语教学中要注重培养学生的跨文化交际能力,认识中西文化差异,注重对文化知识的导入.     

自然生态循环的良性平衡和科技产业的发展

探求既能有效解决人类生存所面临的重大问题 ,又能实现可持续发展的途径是人类发展的永恒主题。本文以此为目的 ,根据对相关内容的深入分析得出 ,以恢复、保持和发展自然生态循环的良性平衡为锁定目标 ,发展、形成大规模或超大规模的巨大科技产业体系 ,是实现人类可持续发展的必由之路。在此基础上 ,本文进一步分析了科技产业的发展条件 ,指出科技与经济的有机结合是形成和实现科技产业的必要条件 ,同时就如何在知识经济的迅速兴起的环境中发展科技产业提出了建议。以“恢复、保持和发展自然生态循环的良性平衡”为锁定目标 ,建立造福人类的科技产业体系既是时代的要求 ,也是时代的迫切呼唤     

Woody vegetation change in Sahelian West Africa: evidence from local knowledge

Vegetation changes in Sahelian West Africa have been increasingly investigated since 1970 due to the catastrophic droughts in the early 1970s and 1980s and the following decades with below average precipitation. In most cases this was done by remote sensing and vegetation studies. In recent years, local knowledge of farmers and pastoralists about vegetation changes has been increasingly investigated. In this paper, information from different case studies in three West African countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal) was used to analyse and evaluate vegetation changes in the Sahel. In total, data were analysed from 25 villages, where the local people were asked to mention plant species and qualify their present occurrence compared to the past. In total, 111 woody species were mentioned as having changed compared to the past, of which 79% were classified as having decreased or disappeared. For each single location 8–59 different woody species were mentioned. In most cases, these are valuable species of socio-economic importance. Only 11% of the species was classified as increasing or new (0–12 were mentioned per location), the later being mainly exotic species. Ten percent were categorised differently among villages. A comparison of local knowledge from different locations provide regional scale information on endangered species and thereby crucial information for making insightful priorities for assisted regeneration, reforestation and conservation strategies.     

Is Policy Towards Intellectual Property Rights Addressing the Real Problems? The Case of Unauthorized Appropriation of Genetic Resources

Unauthorized appropriation of geneticresources has been described by the term``biopiracy.' Technological breakthroughsincluding biotechnological applications canincrease considerably the instrumental value ofbiodiversity as new products or products withnew properties can be made. Nevertheless, itappears that, in most cases, the properties inquestion were already known to the indigenouspeople and used for centuries. The analysisdiscusses both from an economic and an ethicalperspective whether it is just that traditionalknowledge is rewarded. As the conflictintensifies over questions of ownership andcontrol of biological materials, IntellectualProperty Rights are at the center ofcontroversies. The current global systemgoverning biotechnology has largely been shapedby Western expectations and valuations andconsequently has drawn severe criticism. Thecritics doubt both the stability andsustainability of the current patent system andargue for restructuring through benefit-sharingsystems in order to address some of theexisting inequalities. With the help of a casestudy (US patent no. 5,751 on ayahuasca) thetheoretical notion of biopiracy is applied toreal problems.     

“双向探索法”──一种研究移民环境容量的新方法

水利工程的移民环境容量受社会、经济、环境等诸要素的制约。本文以中国四川省开县为例,提出“双向探索法”,并应用于移民环境容量研究,研究方法可行、灵活,且求解迅速可靠,能为决策者提供多种行动方案和决策信息。为本领域的科学研究做了一次有意义的尝试。     

居民山地灾害意识水平比较研究

通过对我国西部三个山地灾害易发省区的山地灾害社会心理学调查,分析了影响山地灾害意识的几种因素,并对居民山地灾害意识的差异进行了探讨研究.结果表明:不同性别、文化程度、职业、年龄、居住地的居民山地灾害意识具有显著性差异.     

Employees' self‐efficacy and perception of individual learning in teams: The cross‐level moderating role of team‐learning behavior

Despite the importance of employee learning for organizational effectiveness, scholars have yet to identify the factors that influence employees' perception of individual learning. This paper identified employees' self‐efficacy as a potential antecedent to their perception of individual learning in the context of teamwork. We also hypothesized that team‐learning behavior had a moderating effect on the relationship between employees' self‐efficacy and their perception of individual learning. We conducted a study of 236 teams working in a retail firm, comprising 236 team supervisors and 1397 employees, and analyzed the data using hierarchical linear modeling. This study revealed that employees' individual‐level self‐efficacy was positively associated with their perception of individual learning in teams. Additionally, team‐learning behaviors moderated the positive relationship between employees' self‐efficacy and the perception of individual learning. This study has theoretical and practical implications for a more nuanced understanding of the perception of individual learning in the context of teamwork. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential implications of team member promotive and prohibitive voice on innovation performance in research and development project teams: A dialectic perspective

How and when does team member voice facilitate team innovation? Integrating research on member voice and a dialectic perspective of innovation, we advance a model in which team member promotive voice enhances team innovation through team knowledge utilization, whereas team member prohibitive voice enhances team innovation through team reflexivity in a nonlinear fashion. We further propose that the differential effects of team member promotive and prohibitive voice will be stronger at different stages (idea generation vs. idea implementation) of the innovation cycle. Survey data from 78 research and development project teams showed a positive indirect effect between team member promotive voice and team innovation through team knowledge utilization, although this relationship was also mediated through team reflexivity. Moreover, the indirect effect of team member promotive voice on team innovation via team knowledge utilization was stronger for teams in the idea generation stage of team innovation. Results also confirmed a nonlinear indirect relationship between team member prohibitive voice and team innovation via team reflexivity such that the positive effects of team member prohibitive voice tapered off at high levels. Contrary to our expectations, the effects of prohibitive voice held regardless of stage. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Leader‐signaled knowledge hiding: Effects on employees' job attitudes and empowerment

The authors introduce the concept of leader‐signaled knowledge hiding (LSKH) and conduct two studies observing what happens when leaders signal employees that knowledge hiding (KH) is practiced, tolerated, and expected. Social learning theory provides the basis for predicting that LSKH encourages subordinates to hide knowledge, even though they suffer from negative job attitudes in reaction. In Study 1, data measured at two time points (N = 1,162) shows that LSKH positively predicts KH among subordinates. The KH dimensions of evasive hiding and playing dumb (but not rationalized hiding) negatively relate to job satisfaction and positively affect turnover intentions. Study 2 (N = 1,169) replicates these results with cross‐sectional data. Moreover, Study 2 demonstrates that evasive hiding and playing dumb negatively affect empowerment, whereas rationalized hiding has a positive effect. Both studies reveal that subordinates will show less KH when they work under leaders who avoid LSKH and in turn have more job satisfaction, feel more empowered, and harbor fewer turnover intentions. The results in this study provide important practical implications for knowledge management activities.