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The purpose of this study is to examine gender differences in personality traits of people with and without entrepreneurial intent to assess whether women who intend to become entrepreneurs exhibit particular tendencies that can be fostered.

Participants completed an online battery of well-established questionnaires to cover a range of personality traits relevant to entrepreneurship and gender. Participants also answered items concerning intent to become an entrepreneur. A factor analysis of personality traits produced four factors (esteem and power, ambition, risk propensity and communal tendency, the latter reflecting openness and cooperation, without hubris). The authors constructed four parallel regression models to examine how gender, entrepreneurial intent and the interaction of gender with intent related to these four personality factor scores.

Participants who endorsed a desire to become an entrepreneur reported higher ambition. Women with entrepreneurial intentions endorsed higher levels of communal tendency than men with entrepreneurial intent. Those without entrepreneurial intent did not show gender differences in communal tendency.

Current findings suggest that men and women who intend to become entrepreneurs share many traits, but women with entrepreneurial intent show unique elevations in communal tendencies. Thus, a worthwhile locus for intervention into the gender disparity in self-employment would be providing space and acknowledgement of prosocial motivation and goals as one highly successful route to entrepreneurship.

Given the underused economic potential of women entrepreneurs, there is a fundamental need for a rich array of research on factors that limit and promote women’s entry into entrepreneurship. Current findings indicate that personality may be one piece of this puzzle.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Female entrepreneurs remain under-represented in an area traditionally dominated by men who rate highly in core masculine traits. But an emphasis on the value of possessing strong communal orientations could help entice more women into self-employment and consequently witness the emergence of an alternative approach to entrepreneurship.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview of the substance use disparities among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth, the contributing factors to these disparities, proven and promising approaches through strengths-based methods, barriers to implementation of prevention and treatment efforts, and future recommendations for effective programs and research.

Approach – We have conducted a thorough literature review of relevant research studies, as well as a review of government, tribal, and community-based curricula and resources. This review of programs is not exhaustive but provides several examples of best practices in the field and suggestions for future directions.

Social implications – We strongly advocate that to accurately explore the true etiology of substance abuse and to respond to the concerns that AI/AN have prioritized, it is necessary to utilize a strengths-based approach and draw upon traditional AI/AN perspectives and values, and active community participation in the process. More specifically, prevention and treatment programs should use methods that incorporate elders or intergenerational approaches; foster individual and family skills-building; promote traditional healing methods to recognize and treat historical, cultural, and intergenerational and personal trauma; focus on early intervention; and tailor efforts to each Native nation or community.

Value – Ultimately, to reduce substance abuse disparities in AI/AN youth, we must find better ways to merge traditional Native practices with western behavioral health to ensure cultural competency, as well as to develop mechanisms to effect system- and policy-level changes that reduce barriers to care and promote the well-being of AI/AN youth, families, and communities.

Purpose – To synthesize the literature on coping among adolescents of color in the U.S., we examine normative and circumstantial stressors, describe coping strategies, and summarize the literature on coping for the promotion of well-being among adolescents of color, including descriptive and intervention studies.

Methods/approach – We conducted an extensive review of the literature in four scientific databases (medline, CINAHL, ERIC, and PyschInfo) between July 2010 and June 2011 (key words: (minority) adolescent(s) (of color), cope/coping, stress (ors), and adaptation/psychological). Studies included in our review were peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and June 2011 that presented original data on the coping strategies and outcomes of adolescents of color (e.g., studies including a majority from underrepresented racial/ethnic communities) between the ages of 12 and 18.

Findings – We identified a total of 91 articles for inclusion, including 83 descriptive and 8 intervention studies. We use a matrix approach to compare descriptive studies by their purpose, study design, sample, targeted stressors, and outcomes. We then discuss the eight interventions we identified, highlighting the targeted population, intervention protocol/adaptation, feasibility/acceptability, and study outcomes.

Implications – The breadth and depth of research on coping among adolescents of color has improved significantly over the past decade, yet our review reveals several areas where further exploration is needed, including research on intra-group differences, validation of coping measures in diverse groups, measurement of the effectiveness of coping strategies over time, and most importantly, the translation of available knowledge on effective coping into culturally relevant, multifaceted interventions for adolescents and their families.

Reading comprehension is a critical area of instruction for all students, but particularly for students with learning disabilities (LD) that impede their ability to understand what they read. This synthesis includes 30 intervention studies on reading comprehension for students with LD conducted in several countries and all regions of the United States. Specifically, the current review focuses on the efficacy of these strategies across grade levels, with various types of reading materials, and in conjunction with other instructional components that have potential to enhance instructional benefits to students. Results suggest that reading comprehension instruction is effective for improving the skills of this population.

Purpose – The purposes of this chapter are to describe both the within-group and between-group variance in Black Americans’ (Blacks’) prevalence of mental illness. This chapter also comments on the impact that poorer mental health has on this group's subsequent social mobility and explores recommendations for the reduction of these inequities.

Methodology/approach – This chapter reviews Black's history in America. It also outlines the influence of this history and related factors on Black Americans' current rates of illness and subsequently vulnerable upward mobility.

Research implications – The history of Blacks in America is tumultuous and has contributed to their vulnerable state. Blacks, on average, are poorer and sicker than Whites, and Blacks’ higher rates of illness are due to a number of factors. As a result, Blacks’ social mobility is precarious. Future research should continue to explore mental health care programs that are specifically designed to address Blacks’ unique culture and worldview.

Social implications – In addition to culturally competent and culturally responsive health care, future initiatives should focus on improving the accessibility and quality of health care, and alleviating socioeconomic disparities, racism, and racism-related stress. These initiatives, in conjunction, are the best approach to improving Blacks’ rates of mental illness.

This descriptive study shows how the government-wide financial statements can be used, with adjustments, to provide evidence on a state's fiscal sustainability. We compute “adjusted total net assets” (AdjTNA), which equals a state’s assets (not including its capital assets) minus the state's liabilities and obligations, including the UAAL for pension and OPEB not reported on the Statement of Net Assets. AdjTNA provides information about a state’s ability to sustain its current fiscal structure, given its current financial resources. Primary results suggest that 40 states have a negative AdjTNA value, with a median -$6.7 billion per state (-$5,230 per household). Sensitivity analysis suggests 48 states have a negative AdjTNA value, with a median -$20.7 billion per state (-$16,200 per household). The paper discusses the important policy implications of these results.

Many entrepreneurs are able to manage their businesses within relatively contained and familiar geographical and cultural circles. With a world economy shrinking every day amid a flood of digital information, todayʼs entrepreneur is increasingly confronted with opportunities to consider new ways to secure vendors and recruit customers. Many unfamiliar possibilities emerge. Should the entrepreneur venture beyond “comfortable” surroundings to consider international connections? Specifically, what about China? How practical is this fetching business temptation of larger markets and lower-cost subcontractors? What are the social, trade, financial, and political issues? Should a “China strategy” be a true entrepreneurial offensive, or rather a defensive response to competition? Is this “China strategy” the promise of yet another entrepreneurial nirvana? Or is it perhaps again a case of “Be careful of what you wish for; it may really come true?”

Purpose – For many African American college students, the pursuit of a college education has both rewards and risks. Oftentimes, African American students are faced with the decision to leave the comforts of their home communities in order to realize the American dream through the mechanism of higher education. The majority attend predominately White institutions (PWIs) where successful negotiation of this process not only has academic consequences, but psychological and cultural consequences as well. This chapter examines the psychological and phenomenological experience of African American students at PWIs of higher education.

Design/methodology/approach – The present day manifestation of historical and sociopolitical foundations of exclusion, racism, and discrimination in higher education are explored. There is a focus on how these latter themes relate to “campus culture” and institutions, with implications for psychological coping and educational success. Conclusions also focus on ways to begin to bring about change in this culture.

Findings – The successful negotiation of the collegiate environment, ultimately leading to the awarding of one's degree requires more than just passing classes; matriculation and retention in college also involves engaging one's social and cultural environment as well, particularly outside of the classroom.

Originality/value – As discussions of multiculturalism and inclusiveness in higher education find themselves anchored to abstract and theoretical conceptualization, or linked to an approach which focuses on “numbers” and “percentages” among student bodies, both of these approaches provide little indication that we are ultimately talking about the lived experiences of real people.