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.     

Stigma Management Through Participation in Sport and Physical Activity: Experiences of Male College Students with Physical Disabilities

Individuals with physical disabilities are oftenstigmatized because their bodies are assumed to varyfrom norms of physical competence and bodily appearance.Possession of a discrediting attribute may impair social interactions and result in thedevaluation of an individual. The purpose of this paperis to explore how involvement in sport and physicalactivity may be one strategy to manage the stigma of a disabled body. Data were collected throughin-depth interviews with 24 male college students withphysical disabilities. Findings indicate thatrespondents believe this context helps them exceedexpectations associated with their disability throughdemonstration of physical skill, a fit healthy body, amuscular body, and a liberated body. Sport and physicalactivity may be effective in compensating for a spoiled identity as participation in this setting isunexpected and emphasizes an alternative representationof a disabled body.     

Automatic sleep stage classification based on easy to register signals as a validation tool for ergonomic steering in smart bedding systems

Ergonomic sleep studies benefit from long-term monitoring in the home environment to cope with daily variations and habituation effects. Polysomnography allows to asses sleep accurately, but is costly, time-consuming and possibly disturbing for the sleeper. Actigraphy is cheap and user friendly, but for many studies lacks accuracy and detailed information. This proof-of-concept study investigates Least-Squares Support Vector Machines as a tool for automatic sleep stage classification (Wake-N1-Rem to N2-N3 separation), using automatic trainingset-specific filtered features as derived from three easy to register signals, namely heart rate, breathing rate and movement. The algorithms are trained and validated using 20 nights out of a 600 night database from over 100 different healthy persons. Different training and test set strategies were analyzed leading to different results. The more person-specific the training nights to the test nights, the better the classification accuracy as validated against the hypnograms scored by experts from the full polysomnograms. In the limit of complete person-specific training, the accuracy of the algorithm on the test set reached 94%. This means that this algorithm could serve its use in long-term monitoring sleep studies in the home environment, especially when prior person-specific polysomnographic training is performed.