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Optimism
Kinds of Optimism Selected AbstractsPESSIMISM OR OPTIMISM: A JUSTIFICATION TO VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY,AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 4 2009JOHANNA ETNER This article analyses the determinants of voluntary contribution to environmental quality by introducing the perception of environmental risk. We consider individuals who are aware both of the impact of their voluntary contributions and of the quality of the current environment on the future quality of environment. Their preferences are represented by the RDU model. We distinguish three kinds of effect: environmental quality, wealth and risk perception. The first effects are not always sufficient to explain agents' implication in the improvement of environmental quality. [source] The Effects of Experience on Entrepreneurial Optimism and UncertaintyECONOMICA, Issue 290 2006STUART FRASER This paper develops an occupational choice model in which entrepreneurs, who are initially uncertain about their true talent, learn from experience. As a consequence, both optimistic bias in talent beliefs and uncertainty diminish with experience. The model gives rise naturally to a heteroscedastic probit estimator of occupational choices, in contrast to the commonly used homoscedastic estimator. The model is applied to British data on self-employment and optimism for the period 1984,99. The empirical analysis supports the main propositions of the model: principally, entrepreneurs are found to be more optimistic than employees, and both optimism and uncertainty diminish with experience. [source] Business Optimism for Small, Medium and Large Firms: Does It Explain Investment?,FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 2 2007Ciaran Driver We use UK survey data on variation in business optimism by manufacturing size group to estimate the determinants of optimism using OLS and SURE. There are similarities across the size groups but also some differences: the medium-size group seems to have been unusually affected by real interest rates in recent years. We also model investment authorisations, conditional on business optimism. Again, there are similarities across the size groups. However, the largest-size group, and possibly also the medium-size group, seem to be investing less in recent years in relation to reported optimism. By contrast, capital investment by smaller-sized firms has been stable in relation to business optimism. Some tentative explanations for these findings are explored. [source] Nordic Investments in the Former Soviet Baltic Frontier: A Survey of Firms and Selected Case StudiesGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2000Harley Johansen Nordic companies have been leaders in the rapid expansion of Western business into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the St Petersburg area of Russia. While joint ventures were being developed prior to the demise of the USSR, investment rose sharply in early 1992. Our survey of companies from Nordic countries revealed a pattern of location and of adaptation to the conditions of former Soviet infrastructure, culture, politics and economy. Initial Nordic investment has renewed economic ties across the Baltic Sea, with inter-country links stronger between specific countries. Frustrations with changing government rules, communications, work ethic, quality expectations and other conditions were expressed in interviews with managers of Nordic companies in the Baltic area. Optimism was tempered by continued uncertainty about Russian governmental policies and market potential. [source] SHAKEOUTS AND MARKET CRASHES,INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2007Alessandro Barbarino This article provides a microfoundation for the rise in optimism that seems to precede market crashes. Small, young markets are more likely to experience stock-price run-ups and crashes. We use a Zeira,Rob type of model in which demand size is uncertain. Optimism then grows rationally if traders' prior distribution over market size has a decreasing hazard. Such prior beliefs are appropriate if most new markets are duds and only a few reach a large size. The crash occurs when capacity outstrips demand. As an illustration, for the period 1971,2001 we fit the model to the Telecom sector. [source] Hereditary Degenerative Retinopathies: Optimism for Somatic Gene TherapyIUBMB LIFE, Issue 6 2000Barkur S. Shastry Abstract Retinitis pigmentosa comprises a large and exceptionally heterogeneous group of hereditary disorders of the retina. As a result of an extensive investigation around the world, primary genetic lesions have been described in many genes. Some of these genes encode enzymes that are involved in the signal transduction pathway. On the basis of in vitro functional assays and standard transgenic and knock-out experiments, it has been proposed that normal cell functions are disrupted because of an abnormal protein-folding and metabolic errors or structural defects in the membrane. This ultimately leads to a gene-mediated cell death known as apoptosis. Various gene transfer approaches using mouse models further suggest that the degeneration can be rescued to some extent. Although many questions remain to be answered, investigations during the last 10 years have enormously increased our understanding of this exceptionally heterogeneous disorder and give hope for an effective gene therapy and a possible cure. [source] Effect of Analysts' Optimism on Estimates of the Expected Rate of Return Implied by Earnings ForecastsJOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 5 2007PETER D. EASTON ABSTRACT Recent literature has used analysts' earnings forecasts, which are known to be optimistic, to estimate implied expected rates of return, yielding upwardly biased estimates. We estimate that the bias, computed as the difference between the estimates of the implied expected rate of return based on analysts' earnings forecasts and estimates based on current earnings realizations, is 2.84%. The importance of this bias is illustrated by the fact that several extant studies estimate an equity premium in the vicinity of 3%, which would be eliminated by the removal of the bias. We illustrate the point that cross-sample differences in the bias may lead to the erroneous conclusion that cost of capital differs across these samples by showing that analysts' optimism, and hence, bias in the implied estimates of the expected rate of return, differs with firm size and with analysts' recommendation. As an important aside, we show that the bias in a value-weighted estimate of the implied equity premium is 1.60% and that the unbiased value-weighted estimate of this premium is 4.43%. [source] ECONOMIC TRENDS: RWANDA: Economic OptimismAFRICA RESEARCH BULLETIN: ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SERIES, Issue 7 2010Article first published online: 1 SEP 2010 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Optimism and Pessimism in Matching Clients to Alcoholism Treatments,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 12 2001Mark D. Litt First page of article [source] RWANDA: Grounds for OptimismAFRICA RESEARCH BULLETIN: ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SERIES, Issue 9 2009Article first published online: 2 NOV 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Preschool children with and without developmental delay: behaviour problems, parents' optimism and well-beingJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 8 2005B. L. Baker Abstract Background Children with intellectual disability are at heightened risk for behaviour problems, and these are known to increase parenting stress. This study explored the relation of behaviour problems to less child-related domains of parent well-being (depression and marital adjustment), as well as the moderating effect of a personality trait, dispositional optimism. Method Participating children (N = 214) were classified as developmentally delayed, borderline, or nondelayed. Mothers' and fathers' well-being and child behaviour problems were assessed at child ages 3 and 4 years. Results Parents of delayed and nondelayed preschoolers generally did not differ on depression or marital adjustment, but child behaviour problems were strongly related to scores on both measures. Optimism moderated this relationship, primarily for mothers. When child behaviour problems were high, mothers who were less optimistic reported lower scores on measures of well-being than did mothers who were more optimistic. Conclusions Interventions for parents that aim to enhance both parenting skills and psycholog- ical well-being should be available in preschool. It may be beneficial for such programmes to focus not only on behaviour management strategies aimed at child behaviour change, but also on parents' belief systems, with the aim of increasing dispositional optimism. [source] Psychosocial functioning and career decision-making in Israeli adolescent and young adult cancer survivors,,PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER, Issue 4 2010Marilyn Stern PhD Abstract Objectives This study examined how dispositional optimism, health vulnerability, and time perspective were related to adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors' career decision-making (CDM) and quality of life (QOL). Secondarily, how cultural factors relate to CDM and QOL among Israeli-Jewish and Israeli-Arab cancer survivors was explored. Methods Fifty-one cancer survivors (68.6% females, 80.4% Israeli-Jewish, 19.6% Israeli-Arab, Mage,=,21.45 years), at least 6 months post-active treatment (Mtime,=,5.75 years) completed self-report questionnaires. Results Multiple regression analyses indicated that optimism, vulnerability, and past negative, present fatalistic, and future time perspective were significantly associated with QOL (F(6, 47),=,6.80, P,<,0.001) and CDM (F(6, 47),=,2.46, P,<,0.04). Perceived vulnerability explained the main portion of QOL variance with greater vulnerability associated with lowered QOL (,,=,0.33, P,<,0.001). Optimism was positively associated with QOL (,,=,0.55, P,<,0.02). Greater present fatalistic time perspective was associated with greater CDM difficulties (,,=,0.32, P,<,0.05). Multivariate analyses indicated greater past negative time perceptions (F(1, 46),=,8.92, P,<,0.005) and fatalism about the future (F(1, 46),=,5.90, P,<,0.02) among Israeli-Arabs as compared to Israeli-Jewish survivors. Israeli-Jewish survivors were more optimistic than Israeli-Arab survivors (F(1, 46),=,3.48, P,<,0.065). Conclusions Vulnerability, optimism, and time perspective were significantly associated with QOL and CDM among Israeli AYA cancer survivors. Israeli-Arabs viewed their pasts and futures more negatively and reported lower optimism than Israeli-Jews. Implications for future research and interventions were considered. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010;55:708,713. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The mediating role of appraisal and coping in the relationship between optimism-pessimism and quality of lifePSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 9 2005I. Schou Abstract Longitudinal data from 165 women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer were used to investigate if the relationship between optimism,pessimism and quality of life (QOL) is attributed to the appraisal and coping strategies. The women completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), as a measurement of optimism,pessimism, the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) Scale, as a measure for coping, a VAS for appraisal and the EORTC QLQ-C30, as a measure for QOL at two time points: at diagnosis and 12-months after breast cancer surgery. Optimism,pessimism had both a direct and indirect influence on QOL. Two coping strategies were particularly strong mediators for the indirect influence: fighting spirit and hopeless/helpless. Optimists responded with fighting spirit, which had a positive effect on their QOL. On the other hand, pessimists responded with hopeless/helplessness, which had a negative effect on their QOL. The relationship between pessimism and QOL at time of diagnosis was also mediated by appraisal, such as threat. The two coping strategies remained fairly stable over the 12 months within the optimists and pessimists. The results suggest that the influence of optimism and pessimism on QOL appears to be mediated by coping both before and after treatment for breast cancer. Fighting spirit and hopeless/helplessness appear to reflect the characteristic coping strategies for optimists and pessimists. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Mutual Optimism and WarAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2007Mark Fey Working with the definition of mutual optimism as war due to inconsistent beliefs, we formalize the mutual optimism argument to test the theory's logical validity. We find that in the class of strategic situations where mutual optimism is a necessary condition for war,i.e., where war is known to be inefficient, war only occurs if both sides prefer it to a negotiated settlement, and on the eve of conflict war is self-evident,then there is no Bayesian-Nash equilibrium where wars are fought because of mutual optimism. The fundamental reason that mutual optimism cannot lead to war is that if both sides are willing to fight, each side should infer that they have either underestimated the strength of the opponent or overestimated their own strength. In either case, these inferences lead to a peaceful settlement of the dispute. We also show that this result extends to situations in which there is bounded rationality and/or noncommon priors. [source] Nostalgia and Optimism in Else Ury's Nesthäkchen Books for Young Girls in the Weimar RepublicTHE GERMAN QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2006Jennifer Redmann First page of article [source] Liver Transplantation for Methadone-Maintained Opiate Dependents: Making the Case for Cautious OptimismAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 10 2003Andrea Di Martini No abstract is available for this article. [source] Horatio Alger and the Tourist's Quest for Authenticity, or, Optimism, Pessimism, and Middle-Class American PersonhoodANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 2 2005Eric Gable First page of article [source] Optimism, Pessimism, and Coalitional Presidentialism: Debating the Institutional Design of Brazilian DemocracyBULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 1 2010TIMOTHY J. POWER Research on Brazil's political institutions has gone through several phases since democratisation in 1985. In the early years of democracy, pessimism prevailed with regard to governability. This view gave way in the mid-1990s to a more optimistic view that stressed two innovations of the Constitution of 1988: enhanced presidential power and centralised legislative procedure. In recent years, a third phase of research has shifted attention to the crucial role of inter-party alliances. These analytical approaches have converged into an emerging research programme on ,coalitional presidentialism', which places executive-legislative relations at the centre stage of macropolitical analysis. This article reviews the three phases of the debate and reflects on future research agendas. [source] A Reason for Optimism in Rural Mental Health Care: Emerging Solutions and Models of Service DeliveryCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE, Issue 3 2007Myra Elder Psychology Service This invited commentary responds to Jameson and Blank's literature review (2007) and utilizes different source materials, such as personal communications among clinicians and policymakers, Internet-based information, and direct professional experience. An update is provided regarding new graduate programs training clinicians for rural service. In addition, perceived barriers to treatment are challenged, because they are drawn from research results that could be interpreted in different ways, given the cultural heritage of southern and central Appalachian people. Lastly, the efforts of the Veterans Affairs Health Care System to reach rural citizens for mental health treatment are summarized. Some of these federal processes could be replicated at the state level, if sociopolitical and economic factors were more directly addressed. The commentary concludes, from the perspective of a professional providing clinical services in a rural setting, that a more optimistic outlook on the state of rural mental health care may be warranted. [source] Results of a multi-componential psychosocial intervention programme for women with early-stage breast cancer in Spain: quality of life and mental adjustmentEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, Issue 3 2009D. MANOS phd, psychologist-psychotherapist The effectiveness of a structured psychosocial intervention for women with breast cancer was studied in relation to a control group. The study was conducted in a hospital setting in Spain, and the aim of the intervention programme was to foster a higher quality of life and a more positive mental adjustment to the cancer. Three measures were used: baseline, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up for both groups. The dependent variables examined were quality of life and mental adjustment. The independent variable was the psychosocial intervention programme. Subjects were 188 women who had been operated for breast cancer and who satisfied a series of medical criteria, had no history of psychological problems and were between 25 and 65 years old. The results have shown that the psychosocial intervention programme was highly effective in improving the patients' quality of life, as compared with baseline measures, as well as compared with the control group. Additionally, the intervention increased the patients' fighting spirit and hopefulness/optimism, and reduced their anxious preoccupation as coping styles. These changes persevered at the 6-month follow-up. [source] Earnings Management to Avoid Losses and Earnings Decreases: Are Analysts Fooled?,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2003David C. Burgstahler Abstract This paper explores whether analyst forecasts impound the earnings management to avoid losses and small earnings decreases documented in Burgstahler and Dichev 1997, whether analysts are able to identify which specific firms engage in such earnings management, and the implications for significant forecast error anomalies at zero earnings and zero forecast earnings. We use data from Zacks Investment Research 1999 and find that analysts anticipate earnings management to avoid small losses and small earnings decreases. Further, analysts are much more likely to forecast zero earnings than firms are to realize zero earnings, and analysts are unable to consistently identify the specific firms that engage in earnings management to avoid small losses. This latter inability contributes to significant forecast pessimism associated with zero reported earnings and significant forecast optimism associated with zero earnings forecasts. [source] Audit Committee Independence and Disclosure: choice for financially distressed firmsCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2003Joseph V. Carcello This study examines the relation between audit committee independence and disclosure choice for financially distressed US firms. The tenor of both the financial statement notes and Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) is considered. For firms experiencing financial distress, there is a significant positive relation between the percentage of affiliated directors on the audit committee and the optimism of the going-concern discussion in both the notes and the MD&A. These results add to the growing body of literature documenting a relation between audit committee independence and financial reporting quality. [source] A systematic review of structured group interventions with mentally disordered offendersCRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2006Edward A.S. Duncan Background,Over the last 15 years, rehabilitation of offenders has been rigorously researched, resulting in new knowledge and understanding about factors decreasing recidivism amongst them. Typically, such interventions have been based on cognitive behavioural therapy. However, until recently, little research had been carried out on the rehabilitation of offenders with mental disorder. The authors present the first systematic review of the efficacy of structured group interventions with mentally disordered offenders. Aim,To evaluate structured group interventions with mentally disordered offenders through systematic review of the evidence for their efficacy and effectiveness. Methods,A standardized search strategy, with complementary methods of data retrieval to ensure a high degree of recall, was employed. Meta-analysis was not undertaken due to sample heterogeneity and lack of comparable data. Instead, effect sizes were calculated on all papers with sufficient data. Pooled effect sizes were calculated for groups of interventions with a similar focus. Results,Twenty studies were retrieved that fitted the inclusion criteria. It was possible to categorize these, predominantly British, studies into four main themes: problem-solving; anger/aggression management; self-harm; and other. The mean pooled effect sizes for the first two groups were suggestive of a moderate to high effect, but methodological variation means that these findings should still be treated as preliminary. Discussion and conclusions,Calculated effect sizes give optimism for the efficacy of structured group interventions with mentally disordered offenders. It is important now that more rigorous and consistent research methods be applied, even in secure hospital environments. Some suggestions towards achieving this are offered, drawing from the work to date, inclusive of the need for agreement on common outcome measures and development of networks to improve sample sizes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Quality of life for patients with a personality disorder , comparison of patients in two settings: an English special hospital and a Dutch TBS clinicCRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2001Dr Mark Swinton Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Introduction There are differing approaches to the management of people with a severe personality disorder in the UK and The Netherlands. Few comparative studies exist. This study describes the use of an adapted version of the Lancashire Quality of life profile as a patient based-outcome measure. Method A cross-sectional sample of 37 patients was interviewed at each site. Result Patients in the Dutch service reported a significantly higher quality of life which could not be explained by better objective circumstances. Discussion The data collected do not explain why the Dutch patients reported a higher quality of life. It is suggested that this finding was related to more extensive therapeutic activity and greater therapeutic optimism in the Dutch service. There is a need for critical scrutiny of the appropriateness of quality of life measures in offender patients before they are accepted for use as an outcome measure. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Israeli Kindergarten Teachers Cope With Terror and War: Two Implicit Models of ResilienceCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 1 2007DAVID BRODY ABSTRACT The resilience of teachers in the face of terror was examined in a narrative study of two Israeli kindergarten teachers over the course of one school year. During this time, there occurred frequent terror attacks as well as the threat of impending war with Iraq and the concomitant threat of chemical warfare. Each teacher's unique pattern of coping based on her own personal theory of resilience was examined. One teacher actively processed with her students stressful news items that the children had encountered. This was based on her belief that children would become more resilient if they had experience dealing with stress in a mediated fashion. The second teacher chose to create what she perceived to be a comfort zone for her students by actively avoiding open discussion about stressful events. She chose to focus on enhancing self-esteem, self-efficacy, and optimism, which she believed would produce greater resilience in her students. In developing these personal resilience theories, both teachers were able to move out of a paralyzed position that is typical of crisis and the immediate posttraumatic period, and move into active coping, thereby incorporating their unique theories of resilience into their personal professional knowledge. These practices were examined in light of current resilience theory. [source] Integrating Gender Interests into Health PolicyDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 2 2006Jasmine Gideon This article reviews current initiatives to integrate gender interests into health policy in Chile. The analysis outlines the debates that have arisen around the questions of mainstreaming gender, in relation to state institutions, NGOs and grassroots organizations. The discussion highlights both the constraints and opportunities identified in the literature. The study locates the Chilean case study within these broader debates and draws some overall conclusions. Despite the limitations posed by the broader context of neo-liberal health sector reforms, the experience of the Chilean gender mainstreaming initiative does suggest that there is some cause for optimism. [source] Pharmacological treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia: therapeutic opportunity or Cul-de-sac?ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2 2007P. F. Buckley Objective:, Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are debilitating and they contribute to poor outcome in schizophrenia. Initial enthusiasm that second-generation antipsychotics would prove to be powerful agents to improve negative symptoms has given way to relative pessimism that the effects of current pharmacological treatments are at best modest. Method:, A review of the current ,state-of-play' of pharmacological treatments for negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Results:, Treatment results to date have been largely disappointing. The evidence for efficacy of second-generation antipsychotics is reviewed. Conclusion:, The measurement and treatment trials methodology for the evaluation of negative symptoms need additional refinement before therapeutic optimism that better treatments for negative symptoms can be realized. [source] Negative symptoms of schizophrenia: a problem that will not go awayACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 1 2007S. M. Stahl Objective:, Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are a common, enduring, and debilitating component of the psychopathology of schizophrenia. Although efforts thus far to elucidate a distinct schizophrenia subtype based upon negative symptoms have yielded mixed results, there are nevertheless neurobiological correlates of the negative symptom typology. Method:, A review of nosology, typology, and assessment tools for determining core negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Results:, Negative symptoms can be difficult to evaluate objectively. Current rating scales ,capture' key domains of negative symptoms, in spite of considerable overlap between these domains. However, each objective assessment trades off methodological rigor and detail against brevity of assessment and ease of use. Conclusion:, The description of new methods for measuring these devastating symptoms, coupled with the ongoing development of novel antipsychotics and agents that augment antipsychotics have fuelled renewed interest in the evaluation of negative symptoms and optimism that better treatments for negative symptoms can be found. [source] Conflict, trade and the medium-term future of food security in SudanDISASTERS, Issue 2007David Keen Recent economic growth and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) have both been seen as grounds for optimism about the future of food security in Sudan. However, solving the North- South conflict (if indeed it is solved) does not resolve conflicts within either the North or the South and may even encourage a variety of conflicts. The classic neoliberal prescription of peace, growth and foreign investment may deepen (and obscure) the needs and grievances of those who have historically been left behind in a dysfunctional development process. Historically, some of those marginalised by patterns of development in Sudan have chosen to rebel, while others have had their grievances diverted against those even more marginal than themselves. Dysfunctional and violent processes of development must be reversed. They cannot be adequately compensated for-but may be legitimised-by attempts to use food aid as a ,safety net'. Meanwhile, those who benefited from war may have incentives to derail the peace. [source] Bargaining without a Common Prior,An Immediate Agreement TheoremECONOMETRICA, Issue 3 2003Muhamet Yildiz In sequential bargaining models without outside options, each player's bargaining power is ultimately determined by which player will make an offer and when. This paper analyzes a sequential bargaining model in which players may hold different beliefs about which player will make an offer and when. Excessive optimism about making offers in the future can cause delays in agreement. The main result states that, despite this, if players will remain sufficiently optimistic for a sufficiently long future, then in equilibrium they will agree immediately. This result is also extended to other canonical models of optimism. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||