Peter H. Kim

Silence speaks volumes : The effectiveness of reticence in comparison to apology and denial for responding to integrity-and competence-based trust violations

Prior research on responses to trust violations has focused primarily on the effects of apology and denial. The authors extended this research by studying another type of verbal response that is often used to respond to trust violations but has not been considered in the trust literature: reticence. An accused party may use reticence in a sincere and even legitimate attempt to persuade a trustor to withhold judgment. Yet, by considering information diagnosticity and belief formation mechanisms through which verbal responses influence trust, the authors argue that reticence is a suboptimal response because it combines the least effective elements of apology and denial. Specifically, reticence is a suboptimal response to an integrity violation because, like apology, it fails to address guilt. And reticence is a suboptimal response to a competence violation because, like denial, it fails to signal redemption. Results from 2 laboratory studies, simulating different contexts and using research participants from 2 different countries, provide support for the prediction. The results offer important implications for those who might use reticence to respond to a perceived trust violation and also for those who must judge anothers reticence.

Multicenter, Randomized, Comparative Cost-effectiveness Study Comparing 0, 1, and 2 Diagnostic Medial Branch (Facet Joint Nerve) Block Treatment Paradigms before Lumbar Facet Radiofrequency Denervation

Background:Among patients presenting with axial low back pain, facet arthropathy accounts for approximately 10–15% of cases. Facet interventions are the second most frequently performed procedures in pain clinics across the United States. Currently, there are no uniformly accepted criteria regarding how best to select patients for radiofrequency denervation. Methods:A randomized, multicenter study was performed in 151 subjects with suspected lumbar facetogenic pain comparing three treatment paradigms. Group 0 received radiofrequency denervation based solely on clinical findings; group 1 underwent denervation contingent on a positive response to a single diagnostic block; and group 2 proceeded to denervation only if they obtained a positive response to comparative blocks done with lidocaine and bupivacaine. A positive outcome was predesignated as ≥50% pain relief coupled with a positive global perceived effect persisting for 3 months. Results:In group 0, 17 patients (33%) obtained a successful outcome at 3 months versus eight patients (16%) in group 1 and 11 (22%) patients in group 2. Denervation success rates in groups 0, 1, and 2 were 33, 39, and 64%, respectively. Pain scores and functional capacity were significantly lower at 3 months but not at 1 month in group 2 subjects who proceeded to denervation compared with patients in groups 0 and 1. The costs per successful treatment in groups 0, 1, and 2 were

Control of stem cell fate and function by engineering physical microenvironments

6,286,

The Dissatisfaction of Having Your First Offer Accepted: The Role of Counterfactual Thinking in Negotiations

17,142, and

Choosing the path to bargaining power: an empirical comparison of BATNAs and contributions in negotiation.

15,241, respectively. Conclusions:Using current reimbursement scales, these findings suggest that proceeding to radiofrequency denervation without a diagnostic block is the most cost-effective treatment paradigm.

Prevention Strategies for Cardiovascular Disease in HIV-Infected Patients

The phenotypic expression and function of stem cells are regulated by their integrated response to variable microenvironmental cues, including growth factors and cytokines, matrix-mediated signals, and cell–cell interactions. Recently, growing evidence suggests that matrix-mediated signals include mechanical stimuli such as strain, shear stress, substrate rigidity and topography, and these stimuli have a more profound impact on stem cell phenotypes than had previously been recognized, e.g. self-renewal and differentiation through the control of gene transcription and signaling pathways. Using a variety of cell culture models enabled by micro and nanoscale technologies, we are beginning to systematically and quantitatively investigate the integrated response of cells to combinations of relevant mechanobiological stimuli. This paper reviews recent advances in engineering physical stimuli for stem cell mechanobiology and discusses how micro- and nanoscale engineered platforms can be used to control stem cell niche environments and regulate stem cell fate and function.

Cultural Differences in the Function and Meaning of Apologies

In this article, the authors explore the role of individuals’ counterfactual thoughts in determining their satisfaction with negotiated outcomes. When negotiators’ first offers are immediately accepted, negotiators are more likely to generate counterfactual thoughts about how they could have done better and therefore are less likely to be satisfied with the agreement than are negotiators whose offers are not accepted immediately. This reduction in satisfaction emerged even when the objective outcomes of negotiators whose first offers were immediately accepted were equal to or better than the outcomes of negotiators whose first offers were not immediately accepted. Evidence for a disconnect between objective outcomes and evaluations emerged in two scenario experiments and a simulated negotiation. The final experiment explored the functional and dysfunctional consequences of counterfactual activation following the immediate acceptance of first offers. Upward counterfactual thoughts were positively related to the amount of preparation for a subsequent negotiation; on the other hand, upward counterfactual thoughts were negatively correlated with the likelihood of making future first offers.

Fabrication of poly(ethylene glycol): gelatin methacrylate composite nanostructures with tunable stiffness and degradation for vascular tissue engineering

Although the negotiations literature identifies a variety of approaches for improving ones power position, the relative benefits of these approaches remain largely unexplored. The empirical study presented in this article begins to address this issue by examining how the size of the bargaining zone affects the relative benefit of an advantage in ones BATNA (i.e., having a better alternative than ones counterpart) versus contribution (i.e., contributing more to the relationship than ones counterpart) for negotiator performance. Results indicate that whereas BATNAs exerted a stronger effect on resource allocations than contributions when the bargaining zone was small, an advantage in contributions exerted a stronger effect on resource allocations than BATNAs when the bargaining zone was large. These findings provide needed insight and supporting evidence for how to alter ones power relationship in negotiation.

Fibroblast-Specific Genetic Manipulation of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase In Vivo Reveals Its Central Regulatory Role in Fibrosis

Effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves the survival of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.1 With increased life expectancy, HIV-infected patients increasingly are experiencing complications of illnesses that are not directly related to HIV infection.2 Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the United States,3 recently has been recognized as an important cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with HIV (see Working Group 2, Epidemiological Evidence for Cardiovascular Disease in HIV-Infected Patients and Relationship to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy).2,4–6 Among these patients, traditional CVD risk factors predict CVD events; however, certain components of ART appear to be associated with increased CVD risk.5 Much of the increased CVD risk observed in patients undergoing ART is related primarily to the effects of ART on traditional CVD risk factors; however, direct effects of ART on the vasculature and other inflammatory, immune, and viral factors associated with HIV infection may also contribute to increased CVD risk.5,7,8 A central tenet of preventing CVD is that the intensity of risk-reducing interventions should be based on the level of CVD risk.9 Patients with established CVD are at the highest risk and qualify for the most aggressive risk factor management, with special focus on interventions that have been proven to prevent cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. For patients without established CVD, management is based on the presence of risk factors for developing complications of CVD, such as death, myocardial infarction, and stroke9–12 (see Working Group 4, Screening and Assessment of Coronary Heart Disease in HIV-Infected Patients). The intensity of CVD risk-reducing therapy, however, must be modified by the context of the patient’s overall health. This is an especially important consideration in patients with HIV infection, who often have competing morbidities that may be as likely to …

Synergistic Effects of Matrix Nanotopography and Stiffness on Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Function

One of the most effective means for re-establishing trust in negotiations and disputes is by making an apology. However, the function and meaning of an apology (and thus its effectiveness for negotiators) may differ across cultures. We hypothesized that people from an individual-agency culture (such as the United States) understand apologies as analytic mechanisms for assigning blame and re-establishing personal credibility. In contrast, apologies in collective-agency cultures (such as Japan) are understood to be general expressions of remorse rather than a means to assign culpability. A survey of Japanese and Americans found that, compared to Americans, Japanese apologized more often and were more likely to apologize for actions in which they were not involved; on the other hand, Americans were more likely than Japanese to equate apologizing with personal blame. A subsequent experimental study showed that these cultural differences in the function and meaning of apologies have implications for trust repair in disputes: apologies for integrity violations led to greater trust repair for Japanese than for Americans, but apologies for competence violations were somewhat more effective for Americans than Japanese. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.