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State decisions in environmental policy are driven by international factors, but systematic assessment of this influence has proven elusive. For the first time, we examine the latent influence network that underlies global politics. We propose a model for longitudinal bipartite relational data to infer latent influence networks. Our approach provides improved interpretability and estimability over existing models while performing at least as well. We analyze a newly compiled dataset and find that strong positive and negative influences among countries and treaties do exist. These findings provide a means to understand the evolution of international environmental protection.

Contingency contracting is an intervention modality (or tool) to enable families to change their reward patterns from maladaptive to more adaptive behavior patterns in relation to drug abusing and otherwise delinquent or socially non-compliant adolescent offspring. The five basic elements of the contract include: 1) Responsibilities, 2) Privileges, 3) Bonuses, 4) Penalties, and 5) Record Keeping. These elements are employed in an exchange model of social interaction with goals of increasing positive reinforcement and creating improved interpersonal relations. This is likely to involve interpersonal skills training, which can help clarify confusing communication and enable negotiation to occur free from explicit or subtle coercion. The actual Family Contracting Exercise has six basic phases. In Phase I, each party identifies the things they think would be rewarding to the other. In Phase II, each party identifies rewards for themselves. In Phase III, each party places priorities on rewards previously described. In Phase IV, family empathy is built. In Phase V, each party identifies how hard they think it will be to provide or do the things which the other has identified as rewarding or reinforcing. In Phase VI, actual negotiating or bargaining for a contract takes place. Details of the actual verbal and nonverbal behaviors involved in communication skills which lead to successful contracting are described. A review of the results of studies is done which have utilized this technique with delinquent or drug-abusing adolescents.

In 2008, Nielsen Media Research reported that between 50 million and 70 million people watched each of the presidential and vice presidential debates. Although the debates are some of the most-watched political moments, the influence of the context of debate viewing has received little attention. This study focuses on the reactions of younger Americans to watching the debates in different contexts. In particular, the authors consider the influence of three contexts on political cynicism and reactions to the debates: playing bingo, taking notes on an issue grid, and simply viewing a debate. After viewing a debate in these contexts, participants were asked to create a hypothetical headline about the debate and to answer questions about cynicism. Although there were no significant differences between conditions in terms of writing headlines containing a strategic or cynical interpretation of the debate, the language participants used documents a propensity to view the debates through a strategic lens. Furthermore, the results suggest that including an activity can help to reduce participants' focus on the debate winner and that debate viewing is helpful for reducing cynicism.

The relative validity of valence-instrumentality-expectancy (VIE) force model predictions of performance, based on positive and negative outcome lists, was examined. Using an open-ended questionnaire, Army and Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets generated positive and negative outcomes associated with participation in ROTC. VIE predictions were tested separately for the two samples using both self and supervisor ratings of performance. VIE composites based on the combined lists of outcomes significantly predicted both self and supervisor performance ratings in the Navy sample, and self-ratings in the Army sample. Limited support was obtained for the hypotheses that (1) positive outcome based VIE composites would correlate greater with performance than negative-based composites, and (2) VIE correlations with self-ratings would exceed those with supervisor ratings. The results were discussed in terms of how individuals process positive and negative outcome information related to high performance. Several suggestionsforfuture research designed to specify the nature of these processes were offered.

The financial system plays an extraordinary role in developing and enriching the domestic economy. E-banking service as an innovative software product and service for customers was introduced few years ago in the country from variety of national and international banks: ProCredit Bank, Raiffeissen Bank, Teb Bank, NLB Bank etc., enabling consumers to have access to their bank accounts over the internet. Since internet usage grows rapidly in the country even adoption of e-banking is expected to flourish. Behavior of customers toward adoption is explained using different behavioral model. The objective of this study is to analyze the consumer-adoption process toward e-banking. The survey is used in this respect, to find out the way they learn, try, and adopt or reject e-banking service. Furthermore, the hypothesis those females are significantly different from males on adoption of e-banking services, it prevails the null hypothesis that gender doesn't affect adoption of e-banking services. The study reveals the characteristics of the consumers toward ebanking adoption process, such as differences in individual readiness to try new product; the information searching; advertisement and direct marketing influence; and speed rates of adoption and non adoption among genders.

AbstractThis study examined the development of prosocial charity donations and neural activity in the ventral striatum when gaining rewards for self and for charity. Participants 10–22 years (95% European heritage) participated in three annual behavioral‐fMRI waves (T1: n = 160, T2: n = 167, T3: n = 175). Behaviorally, donations to charity as measured with an economic Dictator Game increased with age. Perspective taking also increased with age. In contrast, self‐gain and charity‐gain enjoyment decreased with age. Ventral striatum activity was higher for rewards for self than for charity, but this difference decreased during adolescence. Latent growth curve models revealed that higher donations were associated with a smaller difference between ventral striatum activation for self and charity. These findings show longitudinal brain–donations associations in adolescence.

Grounded in scholarship on both the perceptual and behavioral components of the third-person effect, the present experimental study examined the effects of perceived impact of political parody videos on self and on others, by varying the perceived intent of the video producer and perceived level of exposure. Building on previous research on the behavioral consequences of such presumed influence, we tested a hierarchical regression model to show how perceived influence on others predicted individuals' willingness to engage in social media activism (i.e., corrective actions). Results demonstrated that participants in our study showed greater perceived influence of the political parody video when it was presented by a source of highly persuasive intent than by a source of low persuasive intent. Unlike our prediction for the effect of perceived exposure, we did not find the effect of perceived level of exposure on the presumed influence on others. Finally, the results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that the perception of influence on others was positively associated with participants' willingness to take a corrective action—the likelihood of engaging in political social media activism.

We study a symmetric information bargaining model of civil war where a third (foreign) party can affect the probabilities of winning the conflict and the size of the post conflict spoils. We show that the possible alliance with a third party makes peaceful agreements difficult to reach and might lead to new commitment problems that trigger war. Also, we argue that the foreign party is likely to induce persistent informational asymmetries which might explain long lasting civil wars. We explore both political and economic incentives for a third party to intervene. The explicit consideration of political incentives leads to two predictions that allow for identifying the influence of foreign intervention on civil war incidence. Both predictions are confirmed for the case of the U.S. as a potential intervening nation: (i) civil wars around the world are more likely under Republican governments and (ii) the probability of civil wars decreases with U.S. presidential approval rates ; Programa de Movilidad de Profesorado project PR2009-0375, from CICYT project number ECO2009-12695 and from the Barcelona GSE research and the government of Catalonia. Albornoz acknowledges funding from the ESRC (RES-062-23-1360) ; Peer reviewed

Past literature has identified several putative precursors of use, as well as alternative forms of use. However, important shortcomings still exist in previous work on use. In particular, inadequate attention has been given to the underlying processes that may mediate the effects of evaluation on attitude and action. In essence, a key part of the theory of change for evaluation itself is missing. To help fill this gap, we describe a framework designed to capture key mechanisms through which evaluation may have its effects. The framework includes change processes that have been validated in various social science literatures. It identifies three levels of analysis (individual, interpersonal and collective), each with four kinds of processes (general influence, attitudinal, motivational and behavioral). With a more comprehensive view of the mechanisms underlying evaluation's influence, the field can move forward in relation to its understanding and facilitation of evaluation's role in the service of social betterment.