Do parents see more? Parental perspective on adolescents’ personality predicting academic achievement

The Big Five have been shown to incrementally predict academic achievement even after controlling for intelligence and self-concept. Little is known, however, about the incremental validity of different perspectives on personality. To fill this gap, the present study examined self- and parental reports on the Big Five of adolescents (\textit{N} = 5,236) using latent multitrait-multimethod models regarding the lower bound of congruence. Results revealed substantial deviations between perspectives on Openness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism as well as relative congruence of ratings of Conscientiousness and Extraversion. Furthermore, the parental perspective on Openness was a positive predictor of level and change in grades as well as competences, over and above trait effects. Parental reports on Extraversion, on the other hand, negatively predicted level and change in grades and competences above trait effects. These findings illustrate the importance of multi-rater data on adolescent personality and demonstrate the use of analyzing the parental perspective in depth. Going further, large-scale studies can benefit from incorporating self- and parent questionnaires on the Big Five as information sources to help elucidate interindividual differences in academic achievement

Comparisons of media types and congruence in positioning of service brands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to undertake a comparative examination of the media types used in projecting positioning strategies of service brands, and to establish whether there is evidence of congruence/fit between managerial decisions, adopted communications and target audience perceptions of positioning strategies of the brands. The relative congruence among intended, conveyed and perceived brand positions is an important research task. Also, how to ensure such synergy and minimize incongruence is an important research question both to theory and to practice. Design/methodology/approach – Following extensive review of the literature, triangulation research method (face-to-face long interviews, survey and content analysis) characterized this study. Findings – The findings reveal that overall parity between the three media (TV; newspaper; and pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and billboards) is evident in terms of failure to translate managerial decisions into corresponding positioning messages. The findings also show that fit or congruence between managerial decision and communicated message fails to deliver the desired message in 19 per cent of the observations. Further 23 per cent of the adopted strategies are neither present in communications nor perceived by the target audience. Irrespective of a positioning strategy being adopted or not, there is total congruence/fit between messages in newspapers and target audience’s perceptions, while the corresponding results for TV and other media are moderate. Moreover, channels for positioning offerings can be multifaceted and they do not strictly have to occur via communications. Only “brand name” positioning strategy demonstrates total fit, while “top of the range” shows high frequency of failure to translate managerial decisions into appropriate communication messages. Originality/value – This paper offers useful insights into the overall differences between the three media (TV; newspaper; and pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and billboards) in the positioning of service brands. The study is a step forward in the diagnosis of the congruence/fit or coherence in the positioning activities between managers, firm practices and consumers’ perceptions. Without this knowledge, executives may encounter difficulties and challenges in their efforts at establishing, maintaining or reframing market “positions” for their offerings.

A DETERMINANT FORMULA FOR RELATIVE CONGRUENCE ZETA FUNCTIONS FOR CYCLOTOMIC FUNCTION FIELDS

Rosen gave a determinant formula for relative class numbers for cyclotomic function fields, which may be regarded as an analogue of the classical Maillet determinant. In this paper, we give a determinant formula for relative congruence zeta functions for cyclotomic function fields. Our formula may be regarded as a generalization of the determinant formula for the relative class number.

Deduction theorems within RM and its extensions

In [13], M. Tokarz specified some infinite family of consequence operations among all ones associated with the relevant logic RM or with the extensions of RM and proved that each of them admits a deduction theorem scheme. In this paper, we show that the family is complete in a sense that if C is a consequence operation with CRM ≤ C and C admits a deduction theorem scheme, then C is equal to a consequence operation specified in [13]. In algebraic terms, this means that the only quasivarieties of Sugihara algebras with the relative congruence extension property are the quasivarieties corresponding, via the algebraization process, to the consequence operations specified in [13].

Motivations toward Fathering: Two Minority Profiles within the Majority's Context

Recently, both the popular and academic press have shown increasing interest in American fathers, portraying them as simply additive to their children's well-being. In other words, if men enact their role as social fathers (i.e., providers) then there is a net social gain for the community. Earlier surveys found that, in the majority community, men have a shared motivational hierarchy that helps determine whether they will enter into and remain in the father role. Women, in the majority community, are accurate in their perception of this hierarchical profile. In relation to fathering incentives, the present study examines the relative congruence between men from the majority community and men and women from two minority communities, namely, Chinese-American and African-American men. The relative consonance of women's perceptions with the men's divulgences is also surveyed.