What does it mean when a young person seems to know the difference between right and wrong, but still repeatedly crosses the line? For professionals working with adolescents who display problematic or transgressive behaviour, such contradictions can be difficult to understand and assess. New research from the University of Amsterdam suggests that one reason may be that conscience is not a single, fixed characteristic. Instead, it is a dynamic system in which several psychological abilities need to work together. Psychologist Julia Tiemersma will defend her dissertation on the topic on 11 September at the UvA.

In a study published in the Academy of Management Journal, researchers surveyed around 1,000 newcomers in the manufacturing industry about their dynamics with supervisors and co-workers during their first month on the job. The researchers surveyed the employees once a month to track shifts in workplace relationships and how political skills influenced their adjustment over time. The study found that newcomers with higher political skills have more social interactions with co-workers and supervisors. Months later, they also had a better understanding of their responsibilities and the social structure in their workplace.

Adolescence is a critical time for nutritional health, given the rapid physical growth, hormonal changes, and neurodevelopmental shifts taking place. Yet diet quality is at its lowest during this pivotal life stage, which is compounded by unique physiological, social, and behavioral factors facing adolescents. In fact, public health guidance has noted that nutrient gaps among adolescents set the stage for a “constellation of potential nutritional risk factors.”¹ This public health challenge is exacerbated by the lack of scientific research and specific, evidence-based dietary guidance tailored to adolescents. To elevate awareness of this issue and identify research needs, the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC) partnered with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, on behalf of the Beef Checkoff, to convene Nourish Now: A Science Dialogue on Improving Adolescent Health through Nutrition, including 50 leading nutrition scientists, previous Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee members, physicians, registered dietitians, and public health experts. Two manuscripts from this convening have now been published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition: Proceedings from Nourish Now: A science dialogue on improving adolescent health through nutrition; and Call to action: the future of evidence-based, adolescent-focused dietary guidance.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team evaluated the efficacy of a structured rehabilitation program for maintaining ADLs among terminally ill cancer patients. 

According to Texas A&M University management researcher Dr. Matthew Call, star employees tend to create value in different ways as their careers progress. Early on, they create outsized value through their individual performance. Experienced stars, meanwhile, contribute by helping colleagues succeed, sharing expertise and developing future stars.

In research published in the Journal of Management, Call and his colleagues examined how the relationship between pay and value creation changes over the course of a star employee’s career.

The Amish are one of the fastest growing minority populations in the U.S. In this Q&A, Cory Anderson, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State, discussed the factors that explain Amish population growth and what the changing demographics of the Amish means for rural communities.

A new perspective article in Risk Sciences examines whether the study of risk should be understood as one distinct science or as multiple risk sciences. The author argues that the Society for Risk Analysis tradition has already established a coherent foundation for risk science, while recognizing that applied risk work often draws on many disciplines.