The psychology of news influence and development of Media Framing Analysis

HowHow precisely do media influence their readers, listeners and viewers? In this paper, we argue that any serious study of the psychology of media influence must incorporate a systematic analysis of media material. However, psychology presently lacks a methodology for doing this that is sensitive to context, relying on generalised methods like content or discourse analysis. In this paper, we develop an argument to support our development of a technique that we have called Media Framing Analysis (MFA), a formal procedure for conducting analyses of (primarily news) media texts. MFA draws on elements of existing framing research from communication and other social scientific research while at the same time incorporating features of particular relevance to psychology, such as narrative and characterisation.

The psychology of work and organizations

From the challenges of sustainability to disruptive technology, work environments face unprecedented change and this major new textbook provides a cutting-edge introduction to how psychology and the world of work interact. Leading international academics, Steve Woods and Mike West, combine the latest research with truly global perspectives to leave students with a fully-rounded understanding of work psychology. Developed from wide-ranging lecturer feedback, three key themes of Ethics and Social Responsibility, Globalization and Cross-cultural Issues, and Environment and Sustainability are threaded throughout every chapter, while an attractive full-colour design and engaging pedagogical devices stimulate student interaction on this rapidly growing course. A full set of lecturer resources including Instructors Manual, PowerPoint Slides and Test Bank make this the complete resource for modern work psychology courses.

The evolution of logistics service providers and the role of Internet-based applications in facilitating global operations

The need for global logistics services has increased dramatically and become extremely complex and dynamic as a result of a number of changes in manufacturing and in industrial production. In response, the logistics industry is changing in a variety of ways, including mergers to form integrated transportation service providers, outsourcing and increased use of information technology. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the evolution and the most important trends in the logistics services provider (LSP) industry. Specific emphasis will be given to the role of Internet-based applications. Within this context, the chapter will also present the role of logistics e-marketplaces. In particular, based on the secondary research of currently existing logistics on-line marketplaces, an analysis and classification of them is provided with the aim of identifying service gaps. The analysis reveals that logistics electronic marketplaces, despite the increased range of services currently offered, still face limitations with reference to integrated customs links or translation services, which both reduce the efficiency of global operations.

Network evolution and the spatiotemporal dynamics of knowledge sourcing

Knowledge accessing from external organisations is important to firms, especially entrepreneurial ones which often cannot generate internally all the knowledge necessary for innovation. There is, however, a lack of evidence concerning the association between the evolution of firms and the evolution of their networks. The aim of this paper is to begin to fill this gap by undertaking an exploratory analysis of the relationship between the vintage of firms and their knowledge sourcing networks. Drawing on an analysis of firms in the UK, the paper finds some evidence of a U-shaped relationship existing between firm age and the frequency of accessing knowledge from certain sources. Emerging entrepreneurial firms tend to be highly active with regard to accessing knowledge for a range of sources and geographic locations, with the rate of networking dropping somewhat during the period of peak firm growth. For instance, it is found that firms tend to less frequently access knowledge sources such as universities and research institutes in their own region during a stage of peak turnover growth. Overall, the results suggest a complex relationship between the lifecycle of the firm and its networking patterns. It is concluded that policymakers need to become more aware that network formation and utilisation by firms is likely to vary dependent upon their lifecycle position.

Advancing the psychology of entrepreneurship:a review of the psychological literature and an introduction

This article provides a narrative review of psychology of entrepreneurship research published in leading psychology journals, based on which we develop an organising framework for future psychological contributions to this field. Furthermore, we introduce the manuscripts collected in this special issue. Our review identified five research areas, broadly corresponding with basic psychological domains, namely personal differences; careers; health and well-being; cognition and behaviour; and leadership; as well as three cross-cutting themes: gender issues; genetic and biological foundations; and context. With the aim to stimulate integration across different approaches and disciplines, we propose a framework to understand how psychologists can offer innovative contributions to the multi-disciplinary entrepreneurship literature. This includes a focus on the entrepreneur embedded in and in interaction with his or her immediate and wider context; attention to different types of entrepreneurs; and a focus on dynamic within-person processes evolving over time.

Dopamine, empathy and the neurobiology of leadership

Objectives: Organisational Psychologists have long sought after methods by which to train individuals to become more effective leaders. Indeed considerable sums of money are spent on the design of such training programs. Yet it is not clear whether or not leadership skills can be taught or whether they are innate. Social leadership is a varied construct consisting of many diverse aspects, yet the ability to empathise with subordinates is a core skill that underpins effective transformational leadership. This type of leadership consists of four characteristics which are labelled ‘idealized influence’, ‘inspirational motivation’, ‘intellectual stimulation’ and ‘individualized consideration’. This is distinct from the transactional style of leadership, which is based on offering contingent rewards for completion of specific tasks. By identifying a specific gene that mediates distinct leadership traits, more effective training regimes can be designed. Design: There are two likely candidate genes that may mediate empathic leadership. The first is catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) which is involved with dopamine synthesis, and the second is the serotonin transporter promoter gene (5-HTTLPR). Both these genes mostly appear in the general population in their heterozygotic form. Thus by comparing phenotypes in leadership traits a measure of base line differences can be examined. Methods: 115 volunteers completed the Multifactor Leadership questionnaire (MLQ), which is a standard 12-item leadership psychometric scale and also underwent buccal swab for subsequent genotyping. Results: Of the 115 subjects 37 were heterozygotic for the COMT gene and 47 heterozygotic for 5-HTTLPR. Of the 12 MLQ subscales, the scores for two of the subscales only differed between the two participant groups. Individuals who were heterozygotic for the COMT gene scored higher on the ‘Inspirational motivation’ t(84)=1.99, p=0.05 and ‘Intellectual stimulation’ t(82)=1.94, p=0.05 scales compared to the carriers for the heterozygotic 5HTPP gene. Conclusions: Given that the behaviours described by these two MLQ subscales require leaders to empathise with subordinates, the current results suggest that dopamine may play a role in this important social task. The fact that both heterozygotic carriers for COMT and 5HTPP were compared allows a comparison to be made between the genotypes most prevalent in the general population.

Uncertainty and the influence of group norms in the attitude-behaviour relationship

Two studies were conducted to examine the impact of subjective uncertainty on conformity to group norms in the attitude-behaviour context. In both studies, subjective uncertainty was manipulated using a deliberative mindset manipulation (McGregor, Zanna, Holmes, & Spencer, 2001). In Study 1 (N = 106), participants were exposed to either an attitude-congruent or an attitude-incongruent in-group norm. In Study 2(N = 83), participants were exposed to either a congruent, incongruent, or an ambiguous in-group norm. Ranges of attitude-behaviour outcomes, including attitude-intention consistency and change in attitude-certainty, were assessed. In both studies, levels of group-normative behaviour varied as a function of uncertainty condition. In Study 1, conformity to group norms, as evidenced by variations in the level of attitude-intention consistency, was observed only in the high uncertainty condition. In Study 2, exposure to an ambiguous norm had different effects for those in the low and die high uncertainty conditions. In the low uncertainty condition, greatest conformity was observed in the attitude-congruent norm condition compared with an attitude-congruent or ambiguous norm. In contrast, individuals in the high uncertainty condition displayed greatest conformity when exposed to either an attitude-congruent or an ambiguous in-group norm. The implications of these results for the role of subjective uncertainty in social influence processes are discussed. © 2007 The British Psychological Society.

Marking high-technology market evolution through the foci of market stories:the case of local area networks

Previous research suggests that changing consumer and producer knowledge structures play a role in market evolution and that the sociocognitive processes of product markets are revealed in the sensemaking stories of market actors that are rebroadcasted in commercial publications. In this article, the authors lend further support to the story-based nature of market sensemaking and the use of the sociocognitive approach in explaining the evolution of high-technology markets. They examine the content (i.e., subject matter or topic) and volume (i.e., the number) of market stories and the extent to which content and volume of market stories evolve as a technology emerges. Data were obtained from a content analysis of 10,412 article abstracts, published in key trade journals, pertaining to Local Area Network (LAN) technologies and spanning the period 1981 to 2000. Hypotheses concerning the evolving nature (content and volume) of market stories in technology evolution are tested. The analysis identified four categories of market stories - technical, product availability, product adoption, and product discontinuation. The findings show that the emerging technology passes initially through a 'technical-intensive' phase whereby technology related stories dominate, through a 'supply-push' phase, in which stories presenting products embracing the technology tend to exceed technical stories while there is a rise in the number of product adoption reference stories, to a 'product-focus' phase, with stories predominantly focusing on product availability. Overall story volume declines when a technology matures as the need for sensemaking reduces. When stories about product discontinuation surface, these signal the decline of current technology. New technologies that fail to maintain the 'product-focus' stage also reflect limited market acceptance. The article also discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of the study's findings. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

The pragmatic motifs of the Jespersen cycle: default, activation, and the history of negation in French

The purpose of this article is to delimit the role of pragmatic specialization in the evolution of negation in French. The change in the marking of sentential negation is believed to proceed in characterized stages that would together constitute the Jespersen cycle. As a marker becomes the default expression of negation, the other markers do not necessarily fade away, and are maintained with specialized roles that include pragmatic functions. One such pragmatic function is that of activation (Dryer 1996), by which a proposition is presented as accessible to the hearer. Activation is shown to motivate the use of preverbal non that competes with 'ne' for several centuries. The claims that the emergence of postverbal pas in early French and the loss of 'ne' in contemporary spoken French are associated with activation are considered on the basis of novel data. It is concluded that pragmatic functions contribute to language change by providing marked options that may be conferred the default status in a grammatical paradigm.

The PCF and the question of intellectual workers : the crisis of social ideology

The aim of this thesis is to examine the approach of the Parti Communiste Francais (from 1956 to 1982) to the emergence of new strata of salaried `intellectual workers' (technicians, engineers, low to middle managers in industry and commerce, scientific researchers, teachers etc) parallelled by the gradual diminution of the traditional industrial working class which forms the core of the Party's support base. This examination is carried out in the context of the debate in France (initiated in the 1950s by social theorists of the Left) on the class membership and role of these strata. The reason for the emergence of such a debate is that in a society given to both a rapid evolution of its social structure and an increased polarisation between Left and Right, a precise knowledge of the objective and subjective determinations of new strata would enable parties to the Left to make proper distinctions between potential allies and adversaries. The thesis posits the view that the PCF has failed to make correct distinctions between its potential allies and adversaries and has thus pursued unsuccessful alliance strategies. The thesis contributes towards a scientifically-based understanding of one of the reasons governing the PCF's steady decline since the 1950s.