L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin

SAGE Open, Volume 13, Issue 4, October-December 2023.
As the most commonly established and attested language contact phenomenon, loanwords, also known as lexical borrowings, may undergo transformations when borrowed from the source language (SL) to the borrowing language (BL). Previous studies have separately illustrated the role of perception and phonology in the borrowing process. However, the speech perception or phonology contributes more to the adaptation pattern in some cases than others. Few studies attempt to explain this phenomenon. To fill in the gap, the present study hypothesizes that differences in borrowers’ L2 proficiency level of the SL are the potential source. To examine this hypothesis, an online adaptation experiment was designed and conducted. The experiment examines how Mandarin Chinese native speakers adapt the English non-words ended in the combination of low vowel and nasal coda. The results suggest that BL monolinguals and less proficient L2 learners of the SL tend to use a phonetic mapping strategy guided by the backness of vowels, while advanced learners of the SL are more likely to adopt a phonological mapping strategy based on coda nasal place. This paper concludes by proposing that borrowers’ L2 proficiency level has an effect on the certain randomized variations in the process of loanword adaptation.

Relationship Between Interest Rate and Risk of P2P Lending in China Based on the Skew-Normal Panel Data Model

SAGE Open, Volume 13, Issue 4, October-December 2023.
This study examines the relationship between interest rate and defunct platform risk of China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. P2P lending provides an alternative funding source for individuals and micro-enterprises and offers a new investment tool for households. But the frequent collapses of many platforms were huge losses to market participants and even led to a decline in China’s P2P lending industry. In this study, weekly data of 76 platforms from December 3, 2017, to October 6, 2019, are employed, and empirical research based on the normal and skew-normal panel data model respectively is conducted. Statistical indicators prove that the skew-normal panel data model is preferable to another one in modeling the data set of interest rates. The empirical results show that China’s P2P market is efficient overall. But the positive correlation between the interest rate and risk is not significant for platforms with excessively high interest rates, whose interest rates are more determined by the types of ownership. The findings and implications are provided in the end.

The Happiness-Economic Well-Being Nexus: New Insights From Global Panel Data

SAGE Open, Volume 13, Issue 4, October-December 2023.
This paper explores whether happiness-led growth policies implemented in some countries are viable for achieving better economic well-being proxied by GDP per capita using a panel dataset covering 104 countries from 2006 to 2018. While past studies showed that economic growth promotes happiness, this paper applied the panel Granger causality test to show that GDP per capita is also determined by happiness. Accordingly, the pooled ordinary least squares, random-effects model, fixed-effects model, and two-step generalized method of moments were employed to estimate the effect of changes in happiness on economic growth. The empirical results suggest that economic growth of 1% to 3% can be obtained by increasing happiness. The positive effect of happiness is about four times greater in developed countries than in developing countries. This paper reveals that happiness should be included in conventional economic growth models to achieve a holistic approach in designing development policies.

Dismantling Anti-Black Racism with Unapologetic Boldness: Redefining our Values and Living them Out Loud

The Counseling Psychologist, Ahead of Print.
In her 2023 Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP) Presidential Address, Dr. Shavonne Moore-Lobban reflects on the work of the division to continue dismantling anti-Black racism. Through personal reflections of societal oppression and harm toward Black people, she calls on the SCP to engage in critical consciousness and center the liberation of Black people for the liberation of all people. Central to her message are redefined SCP values which she reviews and challenges SCP to boldly live out loud.

Dispositional Malicious Envy and Workplace Deviance: Divergent Thinking as a Mediator

SAGE Open, Volume 13, Issue 4, October-December 2023.
In the extant scholarship, researchers have claimed that malicious envy has a significant relationship with workplace deviance. Nevertheless, there remains a dearth of scholarship detailing how employees can display workplace deviance in an organizational context without being caught. This study aims to examine an association between dispositional malicious envy and workplace deviance, mediated by divergent thinking through the lens of social comparison theory. Data was collected via a cross-sectional survey from employees (N = 363) working in Pakistan’s banking and telecom sector. The study results reveal that dispositional malicious envy can lead to workplace deviance via the divergent thinking mediation effect. This study adds to the limited scholarship about how dispositional malicious envy relates to workplace deviance in the organizational setting, particularly when employees make lateral comparisons.

Innovating Teaching Practice Through Professional Learning Communities: Determining Knowledge Sharing and Program Value

SAGE Open, Volume 13, Issue 4, October-December 2023.
The Professional Learning Community (PLC) model has been used to help faculty develop innovative teaching practices and diffuse effective strategies and resources throughout K-12 schools. Yet, whether and how PLCs influence research-focused higher education institutions remain unknown. Drawing on existing research on PLCs and the social network theory, this mixed-methods study investigated how participants shared what they learned during their time in the program to build greater capacity and the perceived benefits and weaknesses of the PLC model. We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 8) and a survey (n = 77) among current PLC fellows and alumni at a large research university. The results based on social network analysis showed that PLC fellows shared knowledge and resources across departments and offices at the university, and these efforts led to additional collaborative research and grant applications. Results also indicate that PLC fellows valued the diversity of the program, developed skills that they used in their courses, gained confidence in their ability to share knowledge and resources, and appreciated the accountability the program provided. Furthermore, respondents rated the program positively and indicated that they were currently using the knowledge and skills gained to further develop innovative teaching practices as well as planning to continue to do so in the future. These findings suggest that the PLC model can be an effective way for universities to empower faculty to develop innovative teaching practices, and, by sharing what they have learned with others, to build capacity for innovative teaching and research practices across the institution.

The Cultural Transmission of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Cerekang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

SAGE Open, Volume 13, Issue 4, October-December 2023.
This article explores how traditional ecological knowledge in Cerekang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is culturally transmitted as a strategy for cultural survival amidst internal and external challenges such as social, ecological, and political changes. Traditional ecological knowledge of the Cerekang people lies from mythological construction of the La Galigo epic, which contain beliefs, collection of instructions, and rules on conservation and preservation of sacred forest and non-sacred forest. This knowledge are culturally transmitted through oral stories, rituals, daily life, and customary organization. Generally, the transmission takes place vertically, horizontally, and obliquely. The traditional, linear-vertical mode of transmission, which tends to be closed, is the most dominant pattern of cultural transmission among the Cerekang people. This study also finds out another pattern of transmission beyond the framework given, which we call as conformist transformation. However, this cultural transmission is not without bias as the transmitted messages are generic and incomplete. Therefore, a contextual education in both formal and informal settings as another mode of cultural transmission is suggested to respond to current social, political, and environmental changes in Cerekang. In order to sustain the Cerekang’s TEK, the local government policy-maker should further facilitate indigenous activities by supporting capacity building in non-formal setting and signing a decree to include TEK in formal education.

Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidity and Alcohol use Disorders Among Adolescent Indigenous Tribals from Three Indian States

Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, Ahead of Print.
Background:Among the Indian adolescents, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are 7.3% and 1.3%. However, no separate data are available for indigenous tribal populations. This study estimated the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and AUD and associated socio-demographic factors among adolescents in the tribal communities in three widely varying states in India.Methods:Using validated Indian versions of the MINI 6.0, MINI Kid 6.0, and ICD-10 criteria, we conducted a cross-sectional survey from January to May 2019 in three Indian sites: Valsad, Gujarat (western India); Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu (south India); and East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya (north-east India) on 623 indigenous tribal adolescents.Results:Aggregate prevalence of any psychiatric morbidity was 15.9% (95% CI: 13.1–19.0) (males: 13.6%, 95% CI: 10.0–18.1; females: 17.9%, 95% CI: 13.9–22.6), with site-wise statistically significant differences: Gujarat: 23.8% (95% CI: 18.1–30.2), Meghalaya: 17.1% (95% CI: 12.4–22.7), Tamil Nadu: 6.2% (95% CI: 3.2–10.5). The prevalence of diagnostic groups was mood disorders 6.4% (n = 40), neurotic- and stress-related disorders 9.1% (n = 57), phobic anxiety disorder 6.3% (n = 39), AUD 2.7% (n = 17), behavioral and emotional disorders 2.7% (n = 17), and obsessive-compulsive disorder 2.2% (n = 14). These differed across the sites.Conclusion:The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in adolescent tribals is approximately twice the national average. The most common psychiatric morbidities reported are mood (affective) disorders, neurotic- and stress-related disorders, phobic anxiety disorder, AUD, behavioral and emotional disorders, andobsessive-compulsive disorder.