The Effect of Repetition on Infants' Imitation From Picture Books Varying in Iconicity

Although picture‐book reading is commonplace during infancy, little is known about the impact of this activity on learning. A previous study showed that 18‐ and 24‐month‐olds imitated a novel action sequence presented in a book that was illustrated with realistic color photos, whereas they failed to imitate from books illustrated with less realistic drawings. In the research reported here, we hypothesized that increasing infants' exposure to a picture book would increase learning from books illustrated with both color photos and drawings. Independent groups of 18‐and 24‐month‐olds were exposed to a picture book either twice in succession or 4 times in succession. The results showed that, regardless of the iconicity of the illustrations, increasing the number of reading sessions significantly improved the infants' imitation scores, compared to age‐matched, no‐demonstration controls. The results are discussed in relation to representational insight and cognitive flexibility.     

Individual and aggregate influences on the age at first birth

This study examines the role of both individual adolescent expectations of market and nonmarket income and aggregate influences on first birth timing for Blacks and Whites and for three birth cohorts of American women. Using two panels of the National Longitudinal surveys, results suggest that between-race differences in age at first birth result from differences in individual expectations about market and nonmarket income. Cohort differences in age at first birth result from relationship differences in both individual and aggregate influences, with aggregate influences differentially altering the role of individual expectations on first birth timing. These results suggest that employment policies that reduce poverty and increase wages would effectively delay childbearing. For Blacks, since early childbearing results from lower expectations about future economic success, similar fertility timing patterns between the races would result if Blacks had White employment and wage levels. Over time, these employment and wage policies will not only alter individual expectations about economic success but also will alter the impact of expectations on fertility timing.     

The application of the durbin-watson test to the dynamic regression model under normal and non-normal errors

Until recently, a difficulty with applying the Durbin-Watson (DW) test to the dynamic linear regression model has been the lack of appropriate critical values. Inder (1986) used a modified small-disturbance distribution (SDD) to find approximate critical values. King and Wu (1991) showed that the exact SDD of the DW statistic is equivalent to the distribution of the DW statistic from the regression with the lagged dependent variables replaced by their means. Unfortunately, these means are unknown although they could be estimated by the actual variable values. This provides a justification for using the exact critical values of the DW statistic from the regression with the lagged dependent variables treated as non-stochastic regressors. Extensive Monte Carlo experiments are reported in this paper. They show that this approach leads to reasonably accurate critical values, particularly when two lags of the dependent variable are present. Robustness to non-normality is also investigated.     

Epidemiological Associations between Gambling Behavior, Substance Use & Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Objective To compare gambling behaviors in a random sample of community residents with and without mental disorders identified by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).Method A large national community survey conducted by Statistics Canada included questions about problems arising from gambling activities as per the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI). We compared respondents within three gambling severity categories (non-problem, low severity and moderate/high severity gambling) across three diagnostic groupings (mood/anxiety disorders, substance dependence/harmful alcohol use, no selected psychiatric disorder).Results Of the 14,934 respondents age 18–64 years who engaged in at least one type of gambling activity in the previous 12 months, 5.8% fell in the low severity gambling category while 2.9% fell in the moderate/high severity category. Females accounted for 51.7% of the sample. The risk of moderate/high severity gambling was 1.7 times higher in persons with mood or anxiety disorder compared to persons with no selected disorder. For persons with substance dependence or harmful alcohol use, the risk of moderate/high severity gambling was 2.9 times higher. Persons with both mood/anxiety and substance/alcohol disorders were five times more likely to be moderate/high severity gamblers. The odds ratio for females was 0.6 and for those with less than post-secondary education it was 1.52. Differences in age and personal income were not significant.Conclusions Individuals in the community suffering from mood/anxiety disorders and substance dependence/harmful alcohol, and especially those with both, experience a higher risk for gambling problems. The treatment of these comorbidities should be integrated into any problem gambling treatment program.Disclaimer: The data upon which of the analyses contained in this paper derive from surveys conducted by Statistics Canada. The opinions expressed in this paper do not represent the opinions of Statistics Canada.     

A qualitative analysis of suicide risk factors,preferred means,and means restriction feasibility within a homeless shelter environment

Suicide completion rates among homeless individuals are approximately nine times higher than the general population. The purpose of this study was to capture the state of social support among homeless individuals, understand how homeless community members support peers in crisis, examine the awareness of suicidal ideation, identify common methods for suicide, and generate strategies for means restriction within a shelter. Twenty individuals residing at an emergency shelter were interviewed. Participants were of diverse cultural identities overrepresented in the sample relative to the general population. Interviews revealed that 40% of participants lacked social support. However, the majority indicated that if they encountered someone at risk for suicide, they would provide support and encouragement to the at-risk individual. Almost half of participants reported knowing of an individual in the shelter who had previously attempted suicide and/or was currently or previously feeling suicidal. Overdose was identified as a primary method for suicide; however, the majority of participants were unable to generate strategies for means restriction. The present study offers a glimpse into the experience of homeless individuals and provides valuable information regarding risk factors for suicide within this highly marginalized and underserved population.     

‘Contestation,negotiation, and resolution’: The relationship between power and collective leadership

The relationship between power and collective leadership (CL) has been theoretically understood and empirically addressed in many different ways. To make sense of this diversity, we investigate and diagram the role of power in CL. First, we identify six representations of power—six ways in which scholars have found that power shapes the emergence and enactment of CL. These representations include: Even in CL, individual power matters; Leaders can devolve power to their subordinates by empowering them; Contextual characteristics related to power can influence the possibility and enactment of CL; CL can create the collective power necessary for people in marginalized positions to challenge embedded power dynamics; Power is intrinsic to the co-construction process; Attributions affect who can enact CL, how they are viewed, and whether they have power. Second, we offer a conceptual framework that provides a comprehensive way to understand the relationship between power and CL. The framework includes two dimensions, one related to power (that runs from episodic to systemic) and the other related to CL (that runs from entitative to emergent). Third, we create a conceptual map by placing the six representations within this framework. Based on our research, we make the case that we cannot understand CL without understanding the ubiquitous, complex, and even contradictory role of power. We also suggest avenues for expanding and elaborating discussions of power in the CL literature.     

Conducting and utilizing evaluation for multiple accountabilities: A study of nonprofit evaluation capacities

This article combines the evaluation capacity building and nonprofit accountability literature to examine how nonprofits use evaluation data to address stakeholder expectations. Our study investigates how staff competency, technological resources, learning climate, and strategic planning influence a nonprofit's ability to demonstrate upward, lateral, and downward accountabilities. Results indicate different combinations of evaluation capacities matter more for particular stakeholder groups. We argue a more integrative nonprofit accountability requires that managers and staff know how to utilize evaluation results for internal and external audiences. Nuances between specific evaluative capacities and their influences on multiple accountabilities suggest several implications for practice.     

Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden

In what has become quite a turbulent quasi‐market for residential care for children and youth, providers now compete for public contracts. To create visibility and attract customers, many providers use marketing activities to project the desired impression of themselves to maintain or strengthen their market position. In this article, we analyse how companies that provide residential care for children manage the impressions they project on their websites and in advertisements. The results reveal that residential care providers use a range of impression management strategies to enhance their organizational image and to respond to potentially damaging or threatening images. The information providers choose to disclose leaves customers—in this case, the social workers responsible for choosing and purchasing care on behalf of clients—with rather limited opportunities to evaluate the quality of care. This is a significant problem considering other, more reliable, sources of information are difficult to access.