A Literature Review of Organizational Behavior Management Interventions in Human Service Settings from 1990 to 2016

We reviewed the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM), and Behavior Analysis in Practice (BAP) from 1990 to 2016, to identify articles that evaluated organizational behavior management interventions in a human service setting. Of those articles, 75 articles met the inclusion criteria for the review, 44 from JABA (1990 to 2016), 22 from JOBM (1990 to 2016), and 7 from BAP (2008 to 2016). We categorized each selected article by setting, employee population, client population, assessment, dependent variable, independent variable, and outcome measures. Results from the review are discussed for all three journals. Recommendations are made to broaden the scope of population and dependent variable targets, include more assessments, and include outcome data when applicable.     

Cross Validation of the Gambling Problem Severity Subscale of the Canadian Adolescent Gambling Index (CAGI/GPSS) on a Sample of Ontario High School Students

This paper reports on the cross validation of the Gambling Problem Severity Subscale of the Canadian Adolescent Gambling Index (CAGI/GPSS). The CAGI/GPSS was included in a large school based drug use and health survey conducted in 2015. Data from students in grades 9–12 (ages 13–20 years) derived from the (N = 3369 students). The CAGI/GPSS produced an alpha of 0.789. A principle component analysis revealed two eigenvalues greater than one. An oblique rotation revealed these components to represent consequences and over involvement. The CAGI/GPSS indicated that 1% of the students fell into the “red” category indicating a severe problem and an additional 3.3% scored in the “yellow” category indicating low to moderate problems. The CAGI/GPSS was shown to be significantly correlated with gambling frequency (r = 0.36), largest expenditure (r = 0.37), sex (more likely to be male) (r = ?0.19), lower school marks (r = ?0.07), hazardous drinking, (r = 0.16), problem video game play (r = 0.16), as well as substance abuse. The CAGI/GPSS was cross validated using a shorted version of the short SOGS, r = 0.48. In addition the CAGI/GPSS and short SOGS produced very similar patterns of correlations results. The results support the validity and reliability of the CAGI/GPSS as a measure of gambling problems among adolescents.     

Late Adapters? How Social Workers Acquire Knowledge and Skills About Technology Tools

Little is understood about the scope of information and communication technology (ICT) use in practice for agency-based social work professionals, and still less is known about how such practitioners acquire and avail themselves of opportunities to learn about ICT tools. This study asked a sample of social work field supervisors (n?=?371) to describe their personal and professional ICT use, to rank the technological sophistication of their agency, to describe the barriers and facilitators to ICT use in their organizations and to operationalize environmental opportunities for acquiring new skills and knowledge. The authors examine factors that may influence technology use: asking if organizational culture is related to uptake in the professional context, and if self-reported individual resistance to innovation and change can explain voluntary adoption of ICT tools. The results offer a portrait of how agency-based social workers are using technology in personal and professional life, describe how these supervisors learn about developing technologies for practice, and highlight the gaps in technology infrastructures among agencies, pointing to directions for further exploration.     

Visualising the invisible: children on the streets of Lima,Peru, realise the self through photographs

This article presents findings from a photographic project conducted with six adolescent boys living and working on the streets of Lima, Peru. In this article, I examine how photographs provided the boys with a means by which to express themselves and served to humanise these participants who exist at the most extreme margins of society. Drawing parallels between the participants’ use of photographs and the roles that photographs play for families, I examine how the ability to record and document their childhood provided the boys in this study the opportunity for critical engagement in the creation of their own histories.     

Ecological research can augment restoration practice in urban areas degraded by invasive species—examples from Chicago Wilderness

Urban biodiversity conservation needs a firm scientific foundation, one that draws upon active and regionally calibrated research programs. Until recently this foundation has not existed. In this paper we examine the way in which the emerging discipline of restoration ecology in an urban context can learn from the experiences of ongoing restoration projects and in turn how novel insights from research of urban soils can help these projects define and reach their goals. Limitations on collaboration between academic researchers and practitioners continues be problematic. We discuss a model whereby this impediment may be removed. A case study of Rhamnus cathartica, an invader of Midwestern woodlands which modifies some important soil ecosystem properties will be used to illustrate the potential for engagement between research and practice.     

Geo-sampling in developing nations

RTI International created a geospatial grid-based sampling methodology that: achieved a probability-based household sample and unbiased estimates; was comparable across countries; used simple frame data available from the in-country census; and was efficient with minimal training to local field staff. The methodology used 1 km² LandScan world population data, which was further subdivided to smaller grid cells ranging from 50 to 150 m². To guide fieldwork, georeferenced maps were generated and viewed without an Internet connection using a third-party app and the tablet’s internal global positioning systems receiver. The field staff’s location was displayed in real time as a blue dot enabling field staff to determine household inclusivity. This methodology was successfully implemented for household surveys Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The design is transferable, adaptable, scalable, and can be used anywhere in the world.     

Visceral adiposity index is associated with premature ejaculation inversely: a cross-sectional study

Objective: Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a novel indicator for the assessment of visceral obesity. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between VAI and premature ejaculation (PE).

Materials and method: A total of 300 men were included in the study. Hundred and fifty men with PE and 150 men without PE (control). All men were evaluated for PE by premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT). VAI levels were calculated using body mass index (BMI), high density lipoprotein and triglyceride (TG) levels.

Results: Mean age of the study groups was 34.3?±?5.2 (30–60) years and the mean age of the controls were 35.9?±?5.3 (30–60) years. The men with PE had lower BMI, TG levels, waist circumference (WC) and higher high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Mean VAI level was 4.13?±?0.7 in study group and 5.72?±?1.6 in control group, respectively. VAI levels were statistically higher in men without PE (p?Discussion: Our cross-sectional study demonstrated a negative correlation between VAI and PE. VAI is superior index for the evaluation and calculation the relationship between obesity and PE.     

Auditory Distress Signals Potentiate Attentional Bias to Fearful Faces: Evidence for Multimodal Facilitation of Spatial Attention by Emotion

Unimodal emotionally salient visual and auditory stimuli capture attention and have been found to do so cross-modally. However, little is known about the combined influences of auditory and visual threat cues on directing spatial attention. In particular, fearful facial expressions signal the presence of danger and capture attention. Yet, it is unknown whether human auditory distress signals that accompany fearful facial expressions potentiate their capture of attention. It was hypothesized that the capture of attention by fearful faces would be enhanced when co-presented with auditory distress signals. To test this hypothesis, we used a modified multimodal dot-probe task where fearful faces were paired with three sound categories: no sound control, non-distressing human vocalizations, and distressing human vocalizations. Fearful faces captured attention across all three sound conditions. In addition, this effect was potentiated when fearful faces were paired with auditory distress signals. The results provide initial evidence suggesting that emotional attention is facilitated by multisensory integration.     

The Impact of Immigrant Status on Home Ownership in Australia

This paper examines the impact of immigrant status on home ownership in Australia. It shows that the rate of home ownership for most groups of immigrants is comparable to that of the Australian born. As expected, recently arrived immigrants have relatively low probabilities of owning their own home. These results hold for both analyses pooled across movers and non‐movers, and for analyses restricted to those, both immigrants and the native born, who moved residence in the previous five years. A decomposition of the estimated coefficients of the model of tenure choice is developed. This is shown to enhance understanding of variations in rates of home ownership across birthplace groups.