Mining managers' causal attributions of socio-environmental conflicts and intergroup perceptions / Percepciones intergrupales y atribuciones causales de conflictos socioambientales por gerentes mineros

Abstract The unprecedented mining boom of the 1990s in Latin America may or may have not contributed to socioeconomic development in the region, but it has certainly been accompanied by increased socio-environmental conflicts. Economists and sociologists have developed taxonomies for such conflicts and have attempted to explain them based on theories of resource mobilization, rational options, social cohesion, and identity construction applied to settings of generally extreme poverty. This study developed and tested psychological hypotheses based on personal values, attribution theory, reputational concern of the firm, intergroup threat theory, and UV radiation theory entailing mining managers' reactions to socio-environmental conflicts in Peru and effects of latitude and altitude. Forty-three Corporate Social Responsibility managers of the 49 mining corporations registered in the Society of Mining, Petroleum, and Energy of Peru filled-in a 20-minute questionnaire in the presence of one of the investigators at company offices (December 2017). 100 % of respondents were male, most of them middle-aged. A 3-factor structure of political, economic, and ecological concerns sustained the attributions of cause whereas mine's surrounding populations were perceived as moral, incompetent, and positive; in balance, these perceptions represent favorable conditions for conflict resolution. However, contrary to expectations, firm's experience of socio-environmental conflicts was not associated with these outcomes. Rather, geography emerged as a moderator of the relationship between the level of socio-environmental conflict experienced and managers' perceptions of the surrounding populations. These results suggest that mining managers more affected by socio-environmental conflict strengthened racial stereotypes in response to the external challenge.

Resumen Los economistas discuten si la enorme expansión de la minería de los años 1990s en América Latina -generalmente a base de capital extranjero- ha contribuido o no al desarrollo socioeconómico de la región, pero en lo que ellos y otros científicos sociales están de acuerdo es en que tal expansión ha estado acompañada de crecientes conflictos socioambientales. Economistas, sociólogos, y antropólogos han desarrollado taxonomías de los conflictos y han intentado explicarlos usando teorías de movilización de recursos, opciones racionales, cohesión social, y construcción de identidad aplicadas a ambientes de extrema pobreza, como lo son generalmente los circundantes a las minas. Sin embargo, los estudios se han concentrado en los comportamientos de estas poblaciones. En este estudio la pregunta es cómo perciben los gerentes mineros peruanos el origen de los conflictos socioambientales. ¿Como causados por el deseo de las comunidades de preservar el ambiente, proteger sus fuentes de agua, mantener su estilo de vida, participar en los beneficios económicos de la mina, responder a una agenda política, corregir los errores ambientales verídicos o esperados de la mina? En segundo lugar, se desarrollan y se prueban hipótesis psicológicas sobre las reacciones de los gerentes ante conflictos socioambientales. Una hipótesis, basada en la teoría de la atribución y la de preocupación reputacional de la firma, fue que su percepción de los conflictos dependería de la medida en que sus minas experimentaron conflicto. Otra hipótesis, basada en la teoría de la amenaza intergrupal, fue que la percepción que tienen los gerentes de los atributos personales de las comunidades vecinas sería más negativa en función de la magnitud de los conflictos experimentados. Tercero, se predijo que las reacciones de los gerentes variarían en función de la latitud y altitud de las minas; la teoría de la radiación UV predice menor inteligencia de la población con la altura sobre el nivel del mar y con la distancia a la línea ecuatorial. Cuarenta y tres gerentes de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa de las 49 corporaciones mineras registradas en la Sociedad de Minería, Petróleo, y Energía del Perú llenaron un cuestionario de 20 minutos de duración en presencia de uno de los investigadores en sus oficinas (Diciembre 2017). En su totalidad, eran hombres, la mayoría de mediana edad. Una estructura de factores políticos, económicos y ecológicos sostuvo las atribuciones de causa de los conflictos; en efecto, pese al pequeño número de casos, el análisis confirmatorio de factores identificó consistentemente un factor político (políticos y organizaciones no-gubernamentales movilizan reclamos por daños supuestos o reales causados por las minas), un factor económico(reclamos de propiedad y aspiraciones de participación de las comunidades en los beneficios económicos de las minas ante la pasividad del gobierno), y un factor ecológico (preocupación por la conservación del ambiente y las fuentes de agua de las comunidades). Las poblaciones vecinas fueron caracterizadas por rasgos de personalidad que las tipificaban como morales, incompetentes y positivas. Estas percepciones son más positivas que las que tienen estudiantes universitarios respecto a la población peruana en general y representan condiciones favorables a la resolución de conflictos. Ni estos resultados ni las caracterizaciones de causas de los conflictos dependieron de la experiencia de conflicto de los gerentes. Esto se puede entender considerando que los contactos frecuentes que tienen los gerentes mineros entre sí probablemente promocionan la estandarización de sus visiones sociales. Por su parte, la geografía moderó la relación entre la experiencia de conflicto y las percepciones intergrupales, sugiriendo que los gerentes más afectados por los conflictos socioambientales fortalecieron sus estereotipos raciales en respuesta al desafío externo si estaban cerca de la línea ecuatorial o a gran altura sobre el nivel del mar.

Effects of people-oriented leadership and subordinate employability on call center withdrawal behaviors / Los efectos del liderazgo centrado en las personas y de la empleabilidad de los subordinados sobre los comportamientos de abandono en el servicio de atención telefónica

Call-center employees are prone to lateness, absenteeism, and turnover because their jobs are low-wage, low-skill, and provoke high levels of stress. Thus, considerate supervisors achieve from them better performance and reduced turnover. This study tested in a Peruvian call center (N= 255) various hypotheses concerned with the effects of people-oriented leadership on withdrawal behaviors, their moderation by subordinate perceived employability, and the nature of the relationships between withdrawal behaviors. The evidence revealed independence of uncertified absenteeism from turnover intention, negative effects of people-oriented leadership on subordinate turnover intention regardless of subordinate level of employability, and leadership x employability crossover interactive effects on subordinate uncertified absenteeism. Since people-oriented supervision is associated with increased absenteeism among highly employable subordinates and decreased absenteeism among low-employability workers, the effects cancel each other. Thus, there is a need for understanding the underlying determinants as a pre-condition to deriving practical recommendations

Los empleados de los servicios de atención telefónica son propensos a retrasos, absentismo y abandono, debido a que sus trabajos son poco remunerados, de baja cualificación y provocan altos niveles de estrés. Por lo tanto, los supervisores considerados obtienen de ellos un mayor rendimiento y un menor abandono. Este estudio que se llevó a cabo en un servicio de atención telefónica peruano (N= 255) probó varias hipótesis relacionadas con los efectos del liderazgo orientado a personas en el comportamiento de abandono, en la moderación por la empleabilidad percibida de los subordinados y en la naturaleza de la relación entre comportamientos de abandono. La evidencia reveló la independencia entre el absentismo no justificado y la intención de abandono, los efectos negativos del liderazgo orientado a las personas sobre la intención de abandono de los subordinados, independientemente del nivel de empleabilidad y los efectos de interacción cruzada de liderazgo y empleabilidad sobre el absentismo no justificado de los subordinados. Dado que la supervisión orientada a las personas se asocia con un aumento del absentismo en los subordinados de alta empleabilidad y una disminución del absentismo entre los trabajadores de baja empleabilidad, los efectos se anulan mutuamente. Por lo tanto, existe una necesidad de comprender los determinantes subyacentes como una condición previa a la obtención de recomendaciones prácticas

Is experience in the public sector associated with Big Five personality aspects? / ¿Se asocia la experiencia en el sector público con aspectos de los Cinco Grandes de la personalidad?

The hypothesis that employees with experience in the public sector differ in personality aspects from those with less or no experience, suggested by the concept of person- organization fit, was tested among 711 participants in executive extension courses of a Peruvian university who filled-in the Big Five Aspect Scales. Whereas significant differences in various personality aspects were observed along age and between males and females, public sector experience only predicted greater Openness. Women outperformed men in Openness and a significant gender x time in public sector interaction revealed that prediction of Openness from the public-sector experience was more pronounced among men. The findings suggest that, in the population studied, little personality differences are attributable to experience in the public sector. Studies are needed to evaluate the external validity of the findings.

El concepto de ajuste persona-organización sugiere que empleados con experiencia en el sector público difieren en aspectos de la personalidad de aquellos con escasa o ninguna experiencia. Cuando se puso a prueba esta hipótesis entre 711 participantes en cursos de extensión para ejecutivos de una universidad peruana, se observó diferencias significativas en las Escalas de Aspectos de los Cinco Grandes entre hombres y mujeres y según la edad, pero la experiencia en el sector público solo predijo mayor Apertura. Las mujeres presentaron mayor Apertura que los hombres y una interacción significativa de género x tiempo en el sector público reveló que la predicción de Apertura desde la experiencia en el sector público era más pronunciada entre los hombres. Los hallazgos sugieren que, en la población estudiada, pocas diferencias de personalidad son atribuibles a la experiencia en el sector público. Se necesita estudios que evalúen la validez externa de los hallazgos.

Increasing literate and illiterate women's met need for contraception via empowerment: a quasi-experiment in rural India.

BACKGROUND: Virtually all the evidence on the relationship between women's empowerment and use of contraception comes from cross-sectional studies that have emphasized macrosocial factors.This analysis tested whether literate and illiterate women are empowered by an intervention designed to provide information addressing technical and gender concerns and expand contraceptive choice, and evaluated the effects of women's decision-making power on contraceptive behavior. METHODS: The data came from a three-year quasi-experiment conducted in two comparable, yet not equivalent, rural blocks in Jharkhand, India. At the intervention block, a new contraceptive method was introduced at Ministry of Health health centers, providers were trained to offer family planning information and services which took into consideration gender power dynamics, and promotional messages and information about contraception were disseminated community-wide. Married women ages 15-49 who lived in the intervention and control blocks were sampled and interviewed before and after the intervention by a professional research firm. Data analyses included generalized linear models with interactions and covariate control. RESULTS: Women's normative beliefs concerning wives' power in decisions regarding money earned and visits to relatives and friends vis-à-vis their husbands' power were increased by the intervention; similar was the case among illiterate, but not literate, women regarding decisions related to childbearing. Concerning met need for contraception, the change for women with relatively more power who were illiterate was greater in the intervention than in the control area. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that women were empowered by outreach visits that addressed gender dynamics and that their empowerment contributed to their met need for contraception. Generalizations to other settings, however, may be limited by cultural differences.

Predicting contraceptive use from an egalitarian model of women's overall household power vis-à-vis conventional power models and third variables.

Research on gender power in contraceptive use has focused on whether women have an active role in household decision-making (the participation model) or on the extent of their control of domestic decisions (the control model); it has also addressed the joint effects of power, age, education and work. Findings published in this journal (Woldemicael, 2009) suggest a third power model according to which wives make joint decisions with their husbands on important domestic areas and autonomous decisions on secondary matters (the egalitarian model). In analyses of Demographic and Health Survey data sets from 46 countries, the egalitarian model explained contraceptive use better than the control and participation models in 19 out of 20 countries outside sub-Saharan Africa; its superiority was less overwhelming in this sub-continent. Power effects on contraceptive use that depend on women's education, age and work for cash are larger in sub-Saharan Africa than in other world regions, whereas independent power effects differ little regionally, suggesting the action of a personality factor. Situational specification of decision importance and direct measurement of women's assertiveness are needed to improve the explanation of contraceptive behaviour.

Assessing the effect of introducing a new method into family planning programs in India, Peru, and Rwanda.

BACKGROUND: Introducing a new method into family planning programs requires careful attention to ensure it meets an actual need and has a positive effect on program goals. The Standard Days Method® is a fertility awareness-based method of family planning that is being introduced into family planning programs in countries around the world. It is different from other methods offered by programs, and may bring new couples into family planning, and increase contraceptive prevalence. The study assesses the effect on contraceptive use and prevalence of Introducing Standard Days Method into existing family planning services in whole regions of India, Peru, and Rwanda. METHODS: In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, health providers were given a contraceptive update on all methods, then trained in counseling on Standard Days Method. Efforts were made to promote demand in the context of informed choice. Routine monthly service statistics in control and intervention areas were used to assess the effect of Standard Days Method introduction at the clinic level; baseline and endline household-based surveys were undertaken to obtain results at the community level (n > 3400 women at endline). RESULTS: Demand for the method is evident in countries with different levels of contraceptive prevalence. The method attracts couples new to family planning, and introducing it into services may increase overall contraceptive prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: Introducing Standard Days Method into existing family planning has the potential of benefiting men and women in diverse settings and populations. This study illustrates the critical role of evidence in scaling up a health innovation.

The role of need for contraception in the evaluation of interventions to improve access to family-planning methods.

A nonrandomized experiment carried out in Jharkhand, India, shows how the effects of interventions designed to improve access to family-planning methods can be erroneously regarded as trivial when contraceptive use is utilized as dependent variable, ignoring women's need for contraception. Significant effects of the intervention were observed on met need (i.e., contraceptive use by women who need contraception) but not on contraceptive use (i.e., contraceptive use by women who may or may not need contraception). Met need captures the woman's success in overcoming barriers to access to family planning, whereas contraceptive use confounds this construct with risk of pregnancy and fertility desires. Exceptions to this rule are identified.

Provider selection of evidence-based contraception guidelines in service provision: a study in India, Peru, and Rwanda.

Providers underutilize evidence-based practice guidelines as they prescribe contraceptives. To discern biases in guideline utilization by 172 providers of three countries, this study used observations from simulated clients trained to choose oral contraceptives. Providers implemented less than one third of the guideline set, but they addressed, more frequently than other guidelines, items categorized as essential by expert opinion (p < .01). Indian providers emphasized instructions on method use in 9-minute consultations, Rwandan providers emphasized contraindications in 29-minute sessions, and Peruvian providers did not emphasize any single guideline category. Providers should use job aids to improve guideline utilization. Those pressed for time need an evidence-based, rather than arbitrary, selection of essential guidelines that optimizes client outcomes. Practice-based research must be generated to meet this need.

Four criteria to evaluate providers' service-delivery response to new contraceptive introduction.

This article presents an evaluation framework developed to assess the first-level effects of introducing the Standard Days Method (SDM) in Peru Ministry of Health clinics. Four questions are asked: 1) To what extent do providers routinely achieve SDM service delivery standards? 2) Is the time invested in SDM delivery consistent with program norms? 3) How does SDM delivery compare with delivery of established methods? and 4) How does SDM introduction affect delivery of established methods? A study at 62 clinics demonstrated the framework's usefulness. The Standard Days Method introduction had positive overall effects on the quality of care but provider training needed adjustments.

Challenging the courtesy bias interpretation of favorable clients' perceptions of family planning delivery.

Favorable client perceptions of provider's interpersonal behavior in contraceptive delivery, documented in clinic exit questionnaires, appear to contradict results from qualitative evaluations and are attributed to clients' courtesy bias. In this study, trained simulated clients requested services from Ministry of Health providers in three countries. Providers excelled in courteousness/respect in Peru and Rwanda; in India, providers were less courteous and respectful when the simulated clients chose the pill. Privacy and two-way communication were less prevalent in all three countries. The findings challenge the courtesy bias interpretation. Global results from qualitative studies may have expressed the views of the minority of clients who are not treated well by providers.

Quality of delivery of the Standard Days Method as compared with contraceptive pills in Rwanda.

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY: Replicating a Peruvian study, this research introduced the Standard Days Method (SDM) into Rwanda Ministry of Health clinics and evaluated client counselling on the new method against that given for contraceptive pills. Providers received technical reinforcement concerning established methods in addition to SDM training. To evaluate their quality of care, simulated clients implemented a service test in visits to 20 clinics. RESULTS: As in Peru, providers exchanged significantly more relevant information with clients who chose SDM than with those who chose pills. Also, a minority of providers posed barriers to SDM access by refusing to give SDM tools to the client until she brought her partner for consultation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study confirm that SDM counselling is generally satisfactory, although SDM training needs adjustment, and that the rigour of providers' pill counselling remains below capacity.

Training x Trainee Interactions in a family planning intervention.

This study investigated the effects of introducing a family planning counseling model at clinics of Peru's Ministry of Health. Providers trained in the model presented greater quality of care and longer counseling sessions than did controls. The main effects, however, were misleading. Nearly all of the quality improvements were contributed by 37% of the trained providers; they had already been better performers at the pretest and complied with the new counseling model's requirement of job aid use at the posttest. The recognition that a majority of trained providers did not profit from training posed a challenge that led to improvements in the model. Training x Trainee Interactions should be explored in evaluations.

Providers' compliance with the balanced counseling strategy in Guatemala.

The balanced counseling strategy developed in Peru improved family planning care and clients' knowledge of their contraceptive method choice, but few providers adopted it. To expand its use, an algorithm was introduced and training, job aids, and reinforcement were supplied to Ministry of Health providers, most of whom were paraprofessionals, from two areas (40 clinics) in Guatemala. Mystery clients made pretest and post-test visits to these clinics and to providers from a nonequivalent control group (40 clinics). The results showed that the strategy was used in 85 percent of the controlled consultations at the experimental clinics. Use of the strategy improved quality of care regardless of the provider's performance at baseline and regardless of ethnic or regional differences. Counseling session length increased by nine minutes, but real-client load did not change. Guatemalan clients can be expected to benefit from the strategy. The increased session length has not yet caused problems, but it may pose policy dilemmas in the future.

Pasta básica de cocaína: un estudio multidisciplinario

Contiene artículos relacionados al uso y abuso de la PBC en el Perú, dimensiones de la demanda, aspectos de la oferta y acciones frente al problema

Pretest de cinco anuncios de TV para prevenir del uso de la pasta básica de cocaína / Pretest of 5 TV spots for prevention of cocaine paste abuse

Se evaluó mediante cuestionarios individuales y entrevistas grupales una campaña de TV en preparación que fue apresentada a través de carteles a grupos de nueve sujetos. Participaron nueve grupos homogêneos de varones de 8 a 12, 15 a 19 y 20 a 24 años de edad de tres estratos socioeconómicos, y seis grupos complementarios de mujeres de 15 a 19 años, padres de familia y especialistas. Se concluyó que la campaña llamará la atención y será bien acogida por el público, involucrando especialmente a los hombres de 15 a 19 años. Sin embargo, varias dificuldades fueron advertidas y se recomendó limitar la campaña a un anuncio (Manzana) o, como mínimo, prescindir de dos (Fresas, Uva) e introducir cambios sustanciales en el texto verbal de los restantes

El eje psicoactivo norte-sur del Perú / North-South psychoactive axis in Peru

Se realizó un análisis secundario de los resultados del estudio epidemiológico de Jutkowitz, Arellano, Castro de la Mata, Davis, Elinson, Jerí, Shaycoft, y Timaná (1986) en el Perú urbano para determinar si existe una gradiente norte-sur del uso de sustancias psicoactivas, seleccionándose para el análisis las sustancias más usadas (alcohol, tabaco, y hoja de coca). La hipótesis fue confirmada tanto por los datos de prevalencia de vida como de uso actual; en la costa y en la sierra; y respecto a cada sustancia individual, exceptuando el uso actual de alcohol en la costa. Se propuso una teoría psicoevolutiva según la cual la menor cercanía de la madre sureña causaría en el niño las carencias afectivas que inducen en la adultez al mayor consumo de drogas. La excepción a la regla fue atribuida a un factor econômico de producción alcohólica regional

Razones atribuídas al uso de sustancias psicoactivas / Reasons reasons for the use of psychoactive substances

Se puso a prueba la teoría de León (1986) según la cual el público peruano concibe la existencia de diferentes motivos para el uso de los distintos tipos de sustancias psicoactivas. El estudio 1 solicitó a 50 maestros calificar motivos respecto a grupos de sustancias. En el estudio 2, 148 maestros escogieron un motivo para cada sustancia individual. Un modelo tridimensional surgió de los datos, teniendo a la hoja de coca en el extremo de eficiencia, el alcohol en el de extraversión, y las drogas (marihuana, PBC, etc.) en el de sensaciones