Using Task Clarification and Feedback Training to Improve Staff Performance in an East African Nongovernmental Organization

The present study used a multiple-baseline design to illustrate the effectiveness of an intervention package consisting of a multipurpose job aid and feedback training in improving the performance of supervisors and animal trainers in a nongovernmental organization headquartered in East Africa. Prior to the intervention, the performance of three supervisors and three animal trainers was suboptimal. Performance improved when supervisors were taught to use the job aid and provide feedback, and reached a high and consistent level during a subsequent phase, in which supervisors used the job aid independently. Limited maintenance and generalization data suggest that the intervention package produced lasting and generalized effects, and social validity data suggest that supervisors viewed the intervention as acceptable. These findings appear to be the first experimentally controlled demonstration of the potential value of organizational behavior management in improving performance in nongovernmental organizations working in resource-poor areas.     

The Missing Baby Bust: The Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Contraceptive Use,Pregnancy, and Childbirth Among Low-Income Women

Population Research and Policy Review - Multiple episodes in US history demonstrate that birth rates fall in response to recessions. However, the 2020 COVID-19 recession differed from earlier...     

Developmental Typologies of Identity Formation and Adjustment in Female Emerging Adults: A Latent Class Growth Analysis Approach

The developmental interplay between identity and adjustment was examined in a seven‐wave longitudinal study of 428 European female college students (M_age=18.8 years) over a period of 3 years, with semi‐annual measurement waves each year. Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) was used to identify developmental typologies of both identity formation (i.e., dimensions of commitment and exploration) and adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms and self‐esteem). Four trajectory classes emerged for identity, three of which had been suggested earlier in the literature ( Josselson, 1996 ): Pathmakers, Guardians, and Searchers. The fourth trajectory class was labeled Consolidators and consisted of individuals characterized by a strong focus on strengthening their current identity commitments, at the expense of a thorough exploration of alternative options. Three trajectory classes were identified for adjustment: Optimal Adjustment, Moderate Adjustment, and Stable Maladjustment. Each of the four identity trajectory classes was associated with a specific profile of adjustment, with the Searchers showing the poorest profile and the Pathmakers and Consolidators the most positive profile. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are outlined.     

Probabilistic cheap talk

We consider a model in which there is uncertainty over when a one-shot game will be played. We show how a mechanism designer can implement desirable outcomes in certain economic games by manipulating only the probability that the game is played in a given round while leaving all other aspects of the game unchanged. We also show that if there is no discounting, this uncertainty imparts a sequential structure that is almost mathematically equivalent to a repeated version of the game with discounting. In particular, a folk theorem applies to such games. Thus, games of probabilistic cheap provide a third interpretation of the repeated game framework with the additional feature that expected payoff is invariant to the probability of the game ending. Received: 10 May 1999/Accepted: 16 October 2000     

The Inheritance of Longevity in a Flemish Village (18th–20th Century)

The transmission of longevityor post-reproductive survival from parents tooffspring is investigated using data ondemographic and socio-economic characteristicsof the inhabitants of a small Flemish village(Moerzeke) over a period of three hundredyears. This research confirms the possibleexistence of biological mechanisms intransmitting longevity from parent tooffspring. However, this finding can only beobserved for men and women belonging tospecific birth cohorts (mainly those men bornbetween 1821 and 1860 and those women bornbetween 1791 and 1830). Furthermore, thesex-specificity of the transmission, which waspresent in other studies, is not found in thisresearch. Both factors indicate that theimportance of one's biological potential forlongevity can only be realized in specificsocietal conditions.     

Formal pooling of health risks in sub-Saharan Africa: Reflections on the obstacles encountered

Over the past few years a number of institutional solutions to the pooling of health risks have been advanced in a great number of reform proposals for developing countries. The empirical arguments in favour of such recommendations have the full force of accumulated experience in countries that have long been industrialized. However, rural realities in Africa and Asia naturally have very little to do with past or present realities in western countries. Whereas the technical-cooperation and scientific community has relatively good knowledge of techniques, a number of recent experiences of the introduction of mutual benefit schemes in Africa seem to show that this approach is now enjoying some success. The low levels of membership in particular make it essential to tackle the problem fully. This article tries to identify the various possible explanations for this lack of enthusiasm in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Ready,Willing, and Able: Contraceptive Use Patterns Across Europe

An “East–West” divide in contraceptive use patterns has been identified across Europe, with Western European countries characterized by the widespread use of modern contraception, and Central and Eastern European countries characterized by a high prevalence of withdrawal, the rhythm method, or abortion. Building on the Ready–Willing–Able framework, this study aims to gain more insight into the micro- and macro-level socioeconomic, cultural, and technological determinants underlying contraceptive use. Data from the Generations and Gender Survey (2004–2011) covering four Western and seven Central and Eastern European countries are used, and multinomial multilevel analyses are performed. Results reveal that individuals who intend to delay parenthood are more likely to use any contraceptive method, whereas holding more traditional values and having a lower socioeconomic status are associated with a higher likelihood of using no or only traditional methods. Regional reproductive rights and gender equality interact in complex ways with these associations. At minimum, our results underline the complexity of the processes underlying the persistent difference in contraceptive use across Europe.     

Associations Between Morbidity and Alternative Measures of Particulate Matter

This paper explores the association between acute respiratory morbidity and different measures of exposure to airborne particulate matter, including sulfates, total suspended particulates, and fine and inhalable particulates. Regression analysis was used to test for the impacts of these alternative measures of particulate matter on respiratory morbidity using the 1979-1981 annual Health Interview Surveys and EPA's Inhalable Particle Monitoring Network. The general results indicate that, of the surrogate measures for particulate matter, sulfates appear to have the greatest association with morbidity. To the extent that sulfuric acid aerosols are correlated with airborne sulfates, the results suggest that respiratory impairment sufficient to lead to days of reduced activity may be related to the existence of acidity in the air. These findings are consistent with the results of ecological studies reporting an association between mortality and exposures to fine particles and sulfates.