University of Mannheim

About: University of Mannheim is a education organization based out in Mannheim, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & European union. The organization has 4448 authors who have published 12918 publications receiving 446557 citations. The organization is also known as: Uni Mannheim & UMA.

Controlling the stream of thought: working memory capacity predicts adjustment of mind-wandering to situational demands.

Abstract: Although engaging in task-unrelated thoughts can be enjoyable and functional under certain circumstances, allowing one's mind to wander off-task will come at a cost to performance in many situations. Given that task-unrelated thoughts need to be blocked out when the current task requires full attention, it has been argued that cognitive control is necessary to prevent mind-wandering from becoming maladaptive. Extending this idea, we exposed participants to tasks of different demands and assessed mind-wandering via thought probes. Employing a latent-change model, we found mind-wandering to be adjusted to current task demands. As hypothesized, the degree of adjustment was predicted by working memory capacity, indicating that participants with higher working memory capacity were more flexible in their coordination of on- and off-task thoughts. Notably, the better the adjustment, the smaller performance decrements due to increased task demands were. On the basis of these findings, we argue that cognitive control does not simply allow blocking out task-unrelated thoughts but, rather, allows one to flexibly adjust mind-wandering to situational demands.

Structural choice analysis with nested logit models

Abstract: The nested logit model has become an important tool for the empirical analysis of discrete outcomes. There is some confusion about its specification of the outcome probabilities. Two major variants show up in the literature. This paper compares both and finds that one of them (called random utility maximization nested logit, RUMNL )i s prefe rable in most situations. Since the command nlogit of Stata 7.0 implements the other variant (called non-normalized nested logit, NNNL), an implementation of RUMNL called nlogitrum is introduced. Numerous examples support and illustrate the differences between both specifications.

Anatomy of a Paradox: Management Practices, Organizational Structure and Energy Efficiency

Abstract: This paper provides new evidence on the relationship between management practices and firm performance. We interviewed managers of 190 randomly selected manufacturing plants in the UK and matched their responses with official business microdata. We find that climate friendly management practices are associated with lower energy intensity and higher productivity. Firms that adopt more such practices also conduct more climate friendly R&D which will sustain future growth in energy efficiency. Our findings are akin to the "energy efficiency paradox" and highlight the linkages between particular management practices and firm-level energy efficiency. We also find a strong empirical link between climate friendly management practices and organizational structure. Firms are more likely to adopt such practices if climate change issues are managed by the environmental or energy manager, and if this manager is close to the CEO. Adoption is less likely when the CEO is in charge of climate change issues.

Who Takes the Parliamentary Floor? The Role of Gender in Speech-making in the Swedish Riksdag

Abstract: Legislative speeches are an important instrument for parties and members of parliament (MPs) to signal their positions and priorities. This raises the question of who speaks when. We evaluate whether a MP’s presence on the floor depends on his or her gender. We hypothesize that female MPs give in general less speeches in parliament and that this pattern results from debates dealing with “harder” policy issues. Our expectations are supported when analyzing a new data set containing information on the number and content of speeches given in the Swedish Riksdag between 2002 and 2010.