The future of leadership

The good news with regard to this (or any) chapter on the future of leadership is that there is one. There was a time when researchers called for a moratorium on new leadership theory and research (e.g., Miner, 1975) citing the uncertain future of the field. Then for a time there was a popular academic perspective that leadership did not really matter when it came to shaping organizational outcomes (Meindl & Ehrlich, 1987; Meindl, Ehrlich, & Dukerich, 1985; Pfeffer, 1977). That perspective was laid to rest by "realists" in the field (Day & Antonakis, 2012a) by means of empirical re-interpretation of the results used to support the position that leadership does not matter (Lieberson & O'Connor, 1972; Salancik & Pfeffer, 1977). Specifically, Day and Lord (1988) showed that when proper methodological concerns were addressed (e.g., controlling for industry and company size effects; incorporating appropriate time lags) that the impact of top-level leadership was considerable - explaining as much as 45% of the variance in measures of organizational performance. Despite some recent pessimistic sentiments about the "curiously unformed" state of leadership research and theory (Hackman & Wageman, 2007), others have argued that the field has continued to evolve and is potentially on the threshold of some significant breakthroughs (Day & Antonakis, 2012a). Leadership scholars have been re-energized by new directions in the field and research efforts have revitalized areas previously abandoned for apparent lack of consistency in findings (e.g., leadership trait theory). Our accumulated knowledge now allows us to explain the nature of leadership including its biological bases and other antecedents, and consequences with some degree of confidence. There are other comprehensive sources that review the extensive theoretical and empirical foundation of leadership (Bass, 2008; Day & Antonakis, 2012b) so that will not be the focus of the present chapter. Instead, we will take a future-oriented perspective in identifying particular areas within the leadership field that we believe offer promising perspectives on the future of leadership. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile as background to first provide an overview of how we see the leadership field changing over the past decade or so. This short chronicle will set the stage for a keener understanding of where the future contributions are likely to emerge. Overall, across nine major schools of leadership - trait, behavioural, contingency, contextual, relational, sceptics, information processing, New Leadership, biological and evolutionary - researchers have seen a resurgence in interest in one area, a high level of activity in at least four other areas, inactivity in three areas, and one that was modestly active in the previous decade but we think holds strong promise for the future (Gardner, Lowe, Moss, Mahoney, & Cogliser, 2010). We will next provide brief overviews of these nine schools and their respective levels of research activity (see Figure 1).

Body temperature and fur quality in swimming Water-Shrews, Neomy fodiens (Mammalia, Insectivora)

Body temperature of the European water-shrew Neomys fodiens was reinvestigated with intraperitoneally implanted radiotransmitters. Two animals, caged in outdoor conditions, were tested during February and March. Mean body temperature (Tb) during rest was 37.0°C, during activity 37.5°C. During stress of capture Tb increased to 38.4°C, and during a social confrontation mean Tb was 39.4°C. During forced swimming Tb decreased at a rate of 1.1°C per minute in an animal with wet fur. However, when kept in adequate conditions, animals could maintain their body temperature at a level of about 37°C in most of the tested situations. In water of 2.6°C, mean Tb after 6 min of forced swimming or diving was 37.4°C, comparable to Tb terrestrial activity. In these animals the fur remained dry even on its surface. The pelt of these shrews has a hydrophobic property which seems to be unique compared to other semiaquatic mammals.

Utilització de la variabilitat de la freqüència cardíaca (VFC) per a la valoració de l'estat de recuperació-estrès en l'entrenament del judo

Usually, competitive stress, work life or just the training load in athletes can cause a phenomenon called overtraining syndrome. It is described as imbalance between stimulus and recovery in which decreases performance of athletes without being apparently immersed in a frame of injury or disease. That prolonged fatigue may affect the ability to adapt and thus severely reduce performance. This situation can be prolonged in time despite the existence of weekly or monthly periods of recovery. We want to see if the parameters of HRV, RESTQ-Sport questionnaire and strength values vary significantly in front 2 types of training (an intensive two daily sessions, large volume of work and little rest between the sessions; and another with 4 weekly workouts, with longer recovery time and less volume of work), in national judo players (n=14) to study the relationship between VFC and the imbalance of stress-recovery. METHODOLOGY: We performed a longitudinal and experimental study of HRV in 14 subjects, judo players at the national, randomly divided into 2 groups. One of these was conducted intensive training (high volume and low recovery) and another who made a smoother workout (less volume and less recovery) during a period of 4 weeks. CONCLUTIONS: The correct interpretation of the fluctuation parameters of HRV during the training judo players, may be a good indicator of stress levels, the recovery workload and therefore the observation of VFC is becomes an economic and noninvasive method of monitoring training in judo.

Influència de l’estrès en els resultats acadèmics en relació a la pràctica esportiva

University students which are in exams period tend to modify their habits; physical activity, diet, rest, etc. This means a lesser physical and academical performance. “Tal situación les puede hacer experimentar agotamiento, poco interés frente al estudio, y autocrítica (Caballero, Abello & Palacios, 2007)”(13) Because of that, the goal of this investigation is to observe if practising physical activity during exams period affects the stress level and the academical marks. Students which took part in this investigation had been distributed in two groups: one group which does physical activity minimum 2 days per week (from 5 to 15 hours) and another group which doesn’t practise, or maybe just do less hours than the first group. The sampling is performed by 18 students of Universitat de Vic (9 in each group). During 3 months, they had to answer some questionnaires, first of all, to know the characteristics of all the students (physical activity level, what kind of physical activity they did, average academical marks, etc). Then, they had to do 2 tests to go further in the stress topic (STAI and Escala Estrès Percebut), and finally, the last questionnaire was useful to know if they have been ill after exams period or during it. This 3 months period has been divided in 3 phases: 1st phase at the end of November to choose the participants and learn their characteristics, 2nd phase to do the stress tests (from December until January), and the 3rd phase to collect the data from the questionnaires and tests (end of January).While the groups were being analysed, it was clear to see that the students which practise physical activity tend to suffer less stress in both periods (with and without exams), compared to the sedentary group. Apparently, due to the questionnaires results, the sedentary students suffered more illnesses during or after the stressing period. Therefore, even there are significative differences between both groups in connection with stress level (even from STAI or Escala Estrès Percebut), there isn’t any association towards the academical results, because after all, the sedentary group tends to have better marks than the other group.

La lectura compartida: una eina per l'aprenentatge de la lecto-escriptura en equips cooperatius

L’estudi de cas que es presenta l’hem realitzat a Cicle inicial (CI) de l’escola els Castanyers de Viladrau. Hem portat a terme un projecte per tal d’estudiar la lectura compartida tot utilitzant equips cooperatius (Pujolàs, 2008). Els objectius d’aquest treball són: en primer lloc, ensenyar els alumnes a aprendre de manera cooperativa, és a dir, saber treballar conjuntament, tenir respecte mutu, escoltar als companys, proporcionar ajudes a la resta de l’equip i respectar els punts de vista dels altres, i, en segon lloc, millorar la comprensió dels texts; millorar la lectura i l’escriptura, saber realitzar les tasques i rols, saber seleccionar informació, aprendre a realitzar preguntes. Per portar-lo a terme vam realitzar set sessions en les qual la lectura compartida i els equips cooperatius eren les bases de totes elles. El conjunts de les activitats ens ha permès evidenciar una cohesió del grup-classe més elevada que abans de realitzar-les, així com una lleugera millora en els aspectes relacionats amb la comprensió lectora.

Les mestresses Baldrich a través dels capítols matrimonials (segles XVII-XIX)

L’evolució d’una família burgesa benestant al llarg d’un període s’acostuma a estudiar a través dels canvis en el patrimoni, de les estratègies matrimonials o del nivell cultural, és a dir, del conjunt de totes les decisions relacionades amb la família que tenien repercussió en els afers de la casa. Les iniciatives del propietari, els casaments dels hereus i de les cabaleres, els destins dels fadristerns, les aliances que es derivaven dels casaments o l’import dels dots i llegítimes pactades generació rere generació, impactaven en el calaix de la casa mare i afectaven l’esdevenir de tota la comunitat.1 Aquests estudis s’acostumen a centrar en els caps de família perquè en una societat dirigida pels homes, eren els que gaudien de la capacitat legal i del prestigi social per comprar i vendre, i obrir o tancar negocis. També decidien sobre l’educació i el futur dels fills i filles, podien ostentar càrrecs públics o participar en la vida cultural. Tanmateix, en el procés d’evolució dels patrimonis familiars, les dones que es van unir amb els hereus van tenir un gran protagonisme. El casament de l’hereu constituïa un afer familiar de primer ordre, ja que havia de donar resposta als interessos estratègics del conjunt de la casa. Calia considerar el nivell social i econòmic de la família de la candidata i, per tant, el dot que podia aportar i les inversions que permetria aquesta entrada de recursos, però també el lloc de procedència i els avantatges que podia comportar tenir nous contactes en altres localitats. A més, s’havia de valorar la font d’ingressos de la futura família i preveure com podia incidir la nova aliança en el desenvolupament del negoci propi. Així doncs, s’havien de d’avaluar un seguit de factors abans de prendre la decisió final. En aquest article ens proposem estudiar les raons dels diferents enllaços i la rellevància que van tenir les mullers dels successius hereus en el patrimoni Baldrich. Es tracta de les tretze mestresses corresponents a set hereus, que abracen des de la segona meitat del segle xvii fins al 1835, any de la mort de la darrera mestressa Baldrich, un període del qual es conserva, a més de documentació notarial, correspondència de la casa. La diferència entre el nombre d’homes i de dones es deu al fet que un dels hereus es va casar quatre vegades, i de la resta, quatre ho van fer dues vegades, un altre una vegada, i el darrer restà solter.

La renda salarial a Osona. Estimació, distribució espacial i mesures de desigualtat

Aquest estudi analitza la distribució de la renda salarial a la comarca d’Osona, en comparació amb la resta de comarques de Catalunya i la seva distribució entre els municipis, utilitzant una base de dades original creada a partir de la informació sobre salaris de l’Enquesta d’Estructura Salarial i sobre la població dels censos de 1996 i 2001. La unitat espacial utilitzada, la secció censal, permet obtenir estimacions per als diferents àmbits geogràfics i calcular i descompondre índexs de desigualtat que mostren les característiques de les distribucions.

Auditory localisation and recognition after left inferior collicular lesion: effects of work load on cortical activation patterns (fMRI study)

Evidence from neuropsychological and activation studies (Clarke et al., 2oo0, Maeder et al., 2000) suggests that sound recognitionand localisation are processed by two anatomically and functionally distinct cortical networks. We report here on a case of a patientthat had an interruption of auditory information and we show: i) the effects of this interruption on cortical auditory processing; ii)the effect of the workload on activation pattern.A 36 year old man suffered from a small left mesencephalic haemotrhage, due to cavernous angioma; the let% inferior colliculuswas resected in the surgical approach of the vascular malformation. In the acute stage, the patient complained of auditoryhallucinations and of auditory loss in right ear, while tonal audiometry was normal. At 12 months, auditory recognition, auditorylocalisation (assessed by lTD and IID cues) and auditory motion perception were normal (Clarke et al., 2000), while verbal dichoticlistening was deficient on the right side.Sound recognition and sound localisation activation patterns were investigated with fMRI, using a passive and an activeparadigm. In normal subjects, distinct cortical networks were involved in sound recognition and localisation, both in passive andactive paradigm (Maeder et al., 2OOOa, 2000b).Passive listening of environmental and spatial stimuli as compared to rest strongly activated right auditory cortex, but failed toactivate left primary auditory cortex. The specialised networks for sound recognition and localisation could not be visual&d onthe right and only minimally on the left convexity. A very different activation pattern was obtained in the active condition wherea motor response was required. Workload not only increased the activation of the right auditory cortex, but also allowed theactivation of the left primary auditory cortex. The specialised networks for sound recognition and localisation were almostcompletely present in both hemispheres.These results show that increasing the workload can i) help to recruit cortical region in the auditory deafferented hemisphere;and ii) lead to processing auditory information within specific cortical networks.References:Clarke et al. (2000). Neuropsychologia 38: 797-807.Mae.der et al. (2OOOa), Neuroimage 11: S52.Maeder et al. (2OOOb), Neuroimage 11: S33

The Price of luck

We find that the vast majority of students taking an advanced undergraduate finance course show a preference for luck in a classroom experiment. In Phase I of the experiment part of the students, group A, were asked to guess a coin toss five times in a row. In Phase II the rest of the students, group B, were given 10 EUR to bet on some of the Group A students taking a second go at guessing a sequence of five coin tosses (Phase III). Group B students’ bets were by default allocated to the worse performing student in Phase I. Switching to better performing Group A students was costly. A total of 23 out of 28 students were willing to pay for switching and thus showed a preference for luck.

Impact of videogame playing on glucose metabolism in children with type 1 diabetes.

Phan-Hug F, Thurneysen E, Theintz G, Ruffieux C, Grouzmann E. Impact of videogame playing on glucose metabolism in children with type 1 diabetes. Time spent playing videogames (VG) occupies a continually increasing part of children's leisure time. They can generate an important state of excitation, representing a form of mental and physical stress. This pilot study aimed to assess whether VG influences glycemic balance in children with type 1 diabetes. Twelve children with type 1 diabetes were subjected to two distinct tests at a few weeks interval: (i) a 60-min VG session followed by a 60-min rest period and (ii) a 60-min reading session followed by a 60-min rest period. Heart rate, blood pressure, glycemia, epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), cortisol (F), and growth hormone (GH) were measured at 30 min intervals from -60 to +120 min. Non-parametric Wilcoxon tests for paired data were performed on Δ-values computed from baseline (0 min). Rise in heart rate (p = 0.05) and NE increase (p = 0.03) were shown to be significantly higher during the VG session when compared to the reading session and a significant difference of Δ-glycemic values was measured between the respective rest periods. This pilot study suggests that VG playing could induce a state of excitation sufficient to activate the sympathetic system and alter the course of glycemia. Dietary and insulin dose recommendations may be needed to better control glycemic excursion in children playing VG.

cGMP-dependent protein kinase type I is implicated in the regulation of the timing and quality of sleep and wakefulness.

Many effects of nitric oxide (NO) are mediated by the activation of guanylyl cyclases and subsequent production of the second messenger cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP activates cGMP-dependent protein kinases (PRKGs), which can therefore be considered downstream effectors of NO signaling. Since NO is thought to be involved in the regulation of both sleep and circadian rhythms, we analyzed these two processes in mice deficient for cGMP-dependent protein kinase type I (PRKG1) in the brain. Prkg1 mutant mice showed a strikingly altered distribution of sleep and wakefulness over the 24 hours of a day as well as reductions in rapid-eye-movement sleep (REMS) duration and in non-REM sleep (NREMS) consolidation, and their ability to sustain waking episodes was compromised. Furthermore, they displayed a drastic decrease in electroencephalogram (EEG) power in the delta frequency range (1-4 Hz) under baseline conditions, which could be normalized after sleep deprivation. In line with the re-distribution of sleep and wakefulness, the analysis of wheel-running and drinking activity revealed more rest bouts during the activity phase and a higher percentage of daytime activity in mutant animals. No changes were observed in internal period length and phase-shifting properties of the circadian clock while chi-squared periodogram amplitude was significantly reduced, hinting at a less robust oscillator. These results indicate that PRKG1 might be involved in the stabilization and output strength of the circadian oscillator in mice. Moreover, PRKG1 deficiency results in an aberrant pattern, and consequently a reduced quality, of sleep and wakefulness, possibly due to a decreased wake-promoting output of the circadian system impinging upon sleep.

Increased fat oxidation in prepubertal obese children: a metabolic defense against further weight gain?

The purpose of this study was to measure postabsorptive fat oxidation at rest and to assess the association between fat mass and fat oxidation rate in prepubertal children, who were assigned to two groups: 35 obese children (weight, 44.5 +/- 9.7 kg; fat mass; 31.7 +/- 5.4%) and 37 nonobese children (weight, 30.8 +/- 6.8 kg; fat mass, 17.5 +/- 6.7%). Postabsorptive fat oxidation expressed in absolute value was significantly higher in obese than in nonobese children (31.4 +/- 9.7 mg/min vs 21.9 +/- 10.2 mg/min; p < 0.001) but not when adjusted for fat-free mass by analysis of covariance with fat-free mass as the covariate (28.2 +/- 10.6 mg/min vs 24.9 +/- 10.5 mg/min). In obese children and in the total group, fat mass and fat oxidation were significantly correlated (r = 0.65; p < 0.001). The slope of the relationship indicated that for each 10 kg additional fat mass, resting fat oxidation increased by 18 gm/day. We conclude that obese prepubertal children have a higher postabsorptive rate of fat oxidation than nonobese children. This metabolic process may favor the achievement of a new equilibrium in fat balance, opposing further adipose tissue gain.

Unaltered glucose-induced thermogenesis in Graves' disease.

The thermogenic response to a 100-g oral glucose challenge was studied in 12 patients with Graves' disease using continuous indirect calorimetry. Seven hyperthyroid patients were reinvestigated under the same experimental conditions after medical therapy. The mean net increase in energy expenditure (delta EE) following the glucose challenge was the same in hyperthyroid patients as compared to a control group (delta EE = +0.15 +/- 0.02 and 0.15 +/- 0.01 kcal/min, respectively) and the treated patients (delta EE = +0.11 +/- 0.03 kcal/min ns). When expressed as a percentage of the energy content of the glucose challenge, the mean glucose induced thermogenesis was similar in all three groups: 7.0 +/- 1.0%, 7.4 +/- 0.5%, and 5.5 +/- 1.3% in hyperthyroid, control subjects, and treated patients, respectively. It is concluded that the high energy requirement of hyperthyroid patients is due primarily to an elevated resting energy expenditure. The postprandial thermogenesis in itself does not contribute to the elevated fuel utilization in Graves' disease.

Combined effects of endurance training and dietary unsaturated fatty acids on physical performance, fat oxidation and insulin sensitivity.

Endurance training improves exercise performance and insulin sensitivity, and these effects may be in part mediated by an enhanced fat oxidation. Since n-3 and n-9 unsaturated fatty acids may also increase fat oxidation, we hypothesised that a diet enriched in these fatty acids may enhance the effects of endurance training on exercise performance, insulin sensitivity and fat oxidation. To assess this hypothesis, sixteen normal-weight sedentary male subjects were randomly assigned to an isoenergetic diet enriched with fish and olive oils (unsaturated fatty acid group (UFA): 52 % carbohydrates, 34 % fat (12 % SFA, 12 % MUFA, 5 % PUFA), 14 % protein), or a control diet (control group (CON): 62 % carbohydrates, 24 % fat (12 % SFA, 6 % MUFA, 2 % PUFA), 14 % protein) and underwent a 10 d gradual endurance training protocol. Exercise performance was evaluated by measuring VO2max and the time to exhaustion during a cycling exercise at 80 % VO2max; glucose homeostasis was assessed after ingestion of a test meal. Fat oxidation was assessed by indirect calorimetry at rest and during an exercise at 50 % VO2max. Training significantly increased time to exhaustion, but not VO2max, and lowered incremental insulin area under the curve after the test meal, indicating improved insulin sensitivity. Those effects were, however, of similar magnitude in UFA and CON. Fat oxidation tended to increase in UFA, but not in CON. This difference was, however, not significant. It is concluded that a diet enriched with fish- and olive oil does not substantially enhance the effects of a short-term endurance training protocol in healthy young subjects.

Anorectal anomalies associated with or as part of other anomalies.

Anorectal anomalies occurring with other anomalies or as part of syndromes were analyzed to determine how their epidemiological characteristics differed from those of isolated anal anomalies. Almost 15% of cases were chromosomal, monogenic or teratogenic syndromes, whereas the rest were of unknown cause including sequences (9.3%), VACTERL associations (15.4%) and multiple congenital anomalies (MCA) (60.2%). Almost half of babies with MCA had one or two VACTERL anomalies with distribution frequencies that did not differ significantly from those in babies with the full VACTERL association. There were considerable differences in the frequency of the VACTERL association among babies with different types of anorectal anomaly. Babies with anal anomalies occurring with sequences, VACTERL or MCA showed the same sex differences as babies with isolated anal anomalies, namely male predominance in anal atresia without fistula or cloaca, no sex difference in anal atresia with fistula, and female predominance in ectopic anus and congenital anal fistula. These anomalies, however, were associated with significantly lower mean gestational lengths and birth weights, and higher frequencies of fetal death and pregnancy termination than babies with isolated anal anomalies. Twins were more frequent in sequences, VACTERL and MCA than in isolated anomalies, monogenic syndromes or chromosome anomalies. Five cases were conjoined twins, representing 15% of all cases of twin pregnancies with an anal anomaly. Indeterminate sex was more frequent in babies with anal atresias without fistula than in those with fistula. Anal anomalies are defects of blastogenesis attributable to disorders in expression of pattern determining genes. The differential sex involvement in different types of anal anomaly may be manifestations of expression of the HY/SRY genes during blastogenesis or of X-linkage.