Diagnostic Screener for Compulsive Buying: Applications to the USA and South Korea

Compulsive behavior is an important topic for social scientists. One form of this behavior is compulsive buying. Using data sets from two countries, the USA and South Korea, the Diagnostic Screener for Compulsive Buying (DSCB) (Faber and O'Guinn 1992) is tested with specific emphasis on the scale's cross‐cultural transferability. We find evidence that the DSCB is unidimensional in the USA and bi‐dimensional in South Korea, suggesting a lack of transferability. Potential cultural reasons for the findings are discussed in detail as well as the implications for public policy and future research.     

Using and Influence Level of Information to Explain the Non-consensus Process Loss

Much of the Group Support System (GSS) literature comparing GSS groups with manual groups has produced contrarian results. One of the more confusing is that GSS groups have a higher level of non-consensus than manual groups. Lack of consensus in GSS groups is considered to be a negative aspect of GSS. This paper argues that low levels of consensus are not necessarily harmful and should be expected given the assumptions about GSSs. This study uses an alternate measure to compare face-to-face groups with GSS groups; an influence level of information. Experimental results using an influence level of information show no difference between face-to-face group members and GSS group members. We discuss these implications, as well as additional directions for further consensus research.     

Applying the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm to the Creation of an Accounting Ethics Course

This article explains how and why the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP), a 450-year-old approach to education, can serve as a framework for a modern principles-based ethics course in accounting. The IPP takes a holistic view of the world, combining five elements: context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation. We describe the components of the IPP and discuss how they align with suggestions from prior research for providing principles-based ethics instruction in accounting. We conclude by describing how we used the IPP as a framework to create a graduate-level accounting ethics course.     

Using Affect–Expectations Theory to Explain the Direction of the Impacts of Experiential Emotions on Satisfaction

Traditional research in consumer psychology considers valence (negative vs. positive) to be the primary dimension of an emotion. The direction of the impact an emotion has on consumer satisfaction is considered to be dictated by its valence. Drawing on the theory of affective expectations, in the case of experiential emotions, an alternative conceptualization is proposed in which this direction is seen as being conditional on emotional expectations associated with the consumption experience. When pertaining to consumers’ expectations relative to an anticipated experience, negative emotions can be the output benefit of consumption and contribute positively to satisfaction. Conversely, positive emotions that run against expectations can be a negative output and contribute negatively to satisfaction. On the basis of a qualitative study and a quantitative survey of movie consumption in theaters, it is established that positive (joy) as well as negative (sadness and fear) experiential emotions are positively associated with film expectations, whereas a positive emotion (calmness) runs against these expectations. Contrary to what traditional research predicts, not only joy but also sadness and fear demonstrate positive impacts on satisfaction whereas calmness, a positive emotion, has a negative impact.     

Using the "Ethical Environment" Paradigm to Teach Business Ethics: The Case of the Maquiladoras

The "ethical environment of business" provides a constructive frame of reference for business ethics instruction. As illustrated by a suggested role play about foreign sweatshops, it provides a realistic, problem-solving context for the study of moral and ethical ideas. Once ethical behavior is viewed through this paradigm, students can better see how business policies are shaped by ethics and prepare themselves to react to their own ethical environment.     

农村留守儿童家庭抚育策略的社会学思考——一项生命历程理论视角的个案考察

留守儿童所在家庭不是被动接受而是主动回应社会变迁的冲击,并在留守儿童学龄前和学龄期的生命历程中,分别作出"重生活抚育、轻社会抚育"和"双系生活抚育,单系社会抚育"的策略.留守儿童家庭抚育的决策时机不仅与留守儿童个体生命历程的"标准时间表"保持一致,而且其决策过程和时机往往依托留守儿童与他人构成的关系网络和抚育资源,来回应社会历史力量的冲击.社会历史力量型塑下的留守儿童亦根据所处情境建构着自身的生命轨迹,并在"恰当时间"扮演社会期望的角色.     

Using Focus Groups to Determine Specific Attributes That Influence the Evaluation of Quality Food and Service Quality in Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Abstract

Residents' perceptions of the specific quality attributes of food and service that affect the quantity of food consumed and their satisfaction with the dining service were explored. Eight focus groups composed of 45 residents were conducted in three continuing care retirement communities. When asked to identify the two most important attributes affecting food quality, the participants identified flavor/taste and texture/tenderness of meat. Appearance of staff and attentiveness of service were the most important attributes affecting service quality. These results can be used in identifying strategies to enhance the quality of food and service and overall satisfaction and developing an instrument to evaluate residents' satisfaction.     

Using the Family Self‐Sufficiency Program to Help Families with Housing Assistance Improve Earnings,Credit Score,and Debt Levels: A Quasi‐Experimental Analysis

HUD's Family Self‐Sufficiency (FSS) program aims to help housing assistance recipients increase their earnings and build savings to make progress toward economic security. This study examines an asset‐building nonprofit's innovative financial coaching‐based approach to FSS that adds an additional focus on helping clients build assets and financial capability. We use a quasi‐experimental approach to estimate the program's impact on earnings and cash assistance receipt and analyze credit and debt outcomes against a benchmark group. The findings show substantial, significant gains in households' earnings and significant decreases in receipt of some cash benefits. Participants also saw increases in credit score, and success in paying down credit card and derogatory debt. Our results indicate that FSS can be an effective platform for helping participants in subsidized housing make real progress toward economic security and financial health.