Suchergebnisse

A recent article in this journal discusses ways to manage uncertainty when the research field abruptly and significantly changes on researchers working inside their own society (Kacen & Chaitin, 2006). Our essay extends this discussion by asking: How do researchers manage ambiguous, conflictual, and rapidly changing events when they engage in study outside their own society? We describe three aspects of our data collection experience that coincidentally began one week before the Urumqi city, Xinjiang, China, riots of 2009 in which over 200 people were reported as killed and several thousand injured: (a). our original research agenda and the uncertain situation in Xinjiang in recent years; (b). how we modified our research project and approach to data collection; and (c). what we learned that can contribute to knowledge about conducting research under ambiguous, potentially unstable and rapidly changing socio-political conditions.

AbstractThis research examines the impact of ethnic concentration and community socioeconomic status (SES) on elderly health in ethnically diverse communities in Xinjiang in northwest China. Effects of the concentration of two major ethnic populations are compared: the Han, which is the dominant ethnic group in China, and the Uyghur, the largest Muslim group in Xinjiang. Net of socioeconomic status, we find that population densities of the ethnic groups have a significant impact on our aggregate-level indicators of elderly health. Han density predicts good health, while Uyghur density predicts poor health. However, we do not find that SES indicators are independent predictors of community elder health. These findings suggest that rapidly developing economies, like those in China, do not necessarily provide the attention to health care that would result in improved quality of life and health status for the population.

For decades, datasets on national-level elections have contributed to knowledge on what shapes national party systems. More recently, datasets on elections at the district level have advanced research on subnational party competition. Yet, to our knowledge, no publicly accessible dataset with observations of the party system at both national and district levels exists, limiting the ease with which cross-level comparisons can be made. To fill this gap, we release two corresponding datasets, the National Level Party Systems dataset and the District Level Party Systems dataset, where the unit of analysis is the party system within either the national or district jurisdiction. More than 50 elections in the two datasets are overlapping, meaning they include observations for a single election at both the district and national levels. In addition to conventional measures such as the effective number of parties, we also include underutilized variables, such as the size of the largest party, list type, and the vote shares for presidential candidates in corresponding elections.

We conducted 2 studies in order to explore the content and construct of counterproductive work behavior (CWB) in a Chinese cultural context. In Study 1 we used a 4-category construct of CWB in China and the results showed that supervisor-related CWB was different from that identified
in Western studies. In Study 2 it was indicated that Chinese employees' interpersonal-related CWB involved indirect communication. The property-related CWB engaged in by Chinese employees was the tendency to abuse power for personal gain. Production-related CWB appeared to be openly expressed.
The results in this study deepen and extend our understanding of CWB in 2 important ways. First, they show that culture conditions people's thoughts about what is considered CWB and which behaviors are highlighted in a specific culture. Second, they lend support to the convergence and divergence
perspectives.