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Face-to-face meetings between auditors and clients are becoming increasingly more difficult and expensive to arrange, due in large part to the ceaseless expansion of commerce across the globe. Relying on electronic communication media such as e-mail messaging or video-conferencing for auditor–client inquiry purposes is one way to enhance the timeliness of such communications; however, questions arise with respect to potentially biasing influences of certain technical aspects of electronic media on auditors’ judgment and decision-making processes. Drawing on information processing theories, the current study posits that media and message attributes can interact, thereby differentially affecting auditors’ belief revisions – holding information content constant. The media attributes examined in the current study are cue multiplicity (i.e., the range of central and peripheral cues a medium is capable of transmitting) and message reprocessability (i.e., the extent of archival and retrieval features a medium is capable of handling); and the message attribute studied is evidence strength (e.g., the credibility of client-provided evidence). Research findings from a laboratory experiment with 189 graduate accounting students indicate the following: (1) when client-provided evidence is strong, neither message reprocessability nor cue multiplicity significantly affect the auditors’ belief revisions; (2) when evidence is weak and reprocessability is present, higher cue multiplicity leads to significantly greater belief revision in favor of the client; (3) when evidence is weak and reprocessability is absent, lower cue multiplicity results in significantly greater belief revision in favor of the client. Study results suggest theoretical and practical implications for globally distributed auditor–client communications.

Women’s representation is widely debated within the comic book cannon. Many comic and cultural scholars argue that women characters are overly sexualized, objectified, or excluded from this literary genre (Child, 2013; Danziger-Russell, 2012; Fesak, 2014; Lepore, 2014; Simone, 1999). However, few scholars have adequately addressed how comic book readers make sense of women’s representation within graphic storytelling. The author’s research addresses the issue of women’s representation in comics with special attention to how audiences interpret these supposed images of women’s empowerment. Capitalizing from the author’s time spent working at a local comic book store and a series of 20 in-depth interviews that the author conducted with comic book readers, the author draws from a series of personal field notes, participant observation, and transcribed interviews to understand how gendered relationships in comic books manifest in real-life experiences. Ultimately, the author argues that static comic book stereotypes about hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity shape consumers’ gendered realities. More specifically, this study demonstrates how popular character archetypes like the love interest, the nag, and the slut are redefining readers’ relationship to women both within and outside of comic book culture. By examining this culture, and its audience at large, this research advances a more nuanced understanding of how graphic narratives contribute to gender difference and violence against women, thereby situating women’s empowerment within popular culture.

Professional touching behavior (PTB), defined as intentional touching behavior that occurs between organizational members and that falls within the boundaries of appropriateness and professionalism in the workplace, is prevalent in organizations. Scholars from multiple disciplines, including human resources researchers, have acknowledged the importance of physical contact for facilitating interpersonal communication and relationship-building. However, PTB may not only elicit positive reactions from those who receive it but also negative reactions as well, with implications for social dynamics in organizations. PTB can, on the one hand, fulfill employees’ desires for interpersonal connection; at the same time, such physical contact at work can represent a threat to employees’ health. To explain the nature and implications of these divergent effects of receiving PTB, the authors draw upon sociometer theory and behavioral immune system (BIS) theory to model the emotional, cognitive, and physiological processes via which, and the conditions under which, receiving such behavior will result in socially functional responses and prompt subsequent prosocial behavior, and when PTB will be perceived as a health risk and prompt withdrawal behavior. The theoretical framework of this chapter expands our conceptual understanding of the consequences of interpersonal physical contact at work and has important human resources management (HRM) implications for organizational managers.

In this chapter, the authors utilize both risk and resilience as conceptual frameworks to discuss the academic and psychosocial development of African American adolescent males. Given the amount of attention placed on the academic underachievement of African American males, they explore popular academic themes, such as academic disidentification and the role of teachers and parents. The authors examine psychosocial themes related to racial and athletic identity, the phenomenon of cool pose and “acting Black,” and the development of alternative masculinities. They conclude the chapter with recommendations for education research, practice and policy.

Identity construction is a dynamic process that encompasses a variety of factors such as commonalities, loyalties, power struggles, and survival instincts (Lei, 2003). The complex dimensions of Black identity are influenced, in part, by community, comfort, and acceptance which at times imposes fixed categorizations, characteristics, and singular depictions. Recent research suggests that more attention be paid to the needs of Black adolescent girls and how their race and gender impact what happens in schools (Koonce, 2012). Moreover, it challenges and influences academic success, as it is challenging and difficult to excel in environments that fail to value every aspect of one's identity or identities (Rollock, 2007).

Black girls' interaction with each other, especially in urban schools, can also be problematic and resemble “relational aggression,” when in fact it is a form of posturing to increase their social status. Contextual factors (e.g., culture, school climate) can serve as risk or protective factors for involvement in posturing, relationship aggression, or increasing one's social status. Research focused on peer relationships has found differences in friendship patterns among ethnically and socioeconomically diverse youth, suggesting the importance of examining friendships within the context of ethnic and socioeconomic diversity (see Brown, Way, & Duff, 1999; Crothers, Field, & Kolbert, 2005). Sisterhood among Black girls can serve as a supportive network that enhances the “Black girl experience” as well as promote wellness and healthy identity.

This study examines the influence of peers in the tax compliance setting using a social learning theory approach to investigate the effect of observing a peer's likelihood of reporting income. We also examine the role that gender plays in these decisions. We ask participants to estimate the likelihood of reporting income and to make a binary compliance decision in a setting where they are able to observe what they believe is another's response to a hypothetical tax reporting scenario. Participants who viewed the decision of a noncompliant peer were less likely to report honestly than those who viewed the decision of a compliant peer. This finding provides further evidence of a potential effect for peer influence. Consistent with prior literature, we find that women are more likely to comply than men, but do not find an interactive effect with peer observation. A supplemental experiment indicated that participants who believed their responses would be seen by a peer were less likely to report honestly than participants who believed their responses would remain private. This result, although counter-intuitive, is consistent with Wenzel's (2005a) description of a self–other discrepancy and conformance to a misperceived social norm.