Three models of collaborative child protection: what is their influence on short stays in foster care?

The paper articulates three models of collaboration between child protection services and law enforcement agencies on investigations of child maltreatment, and examines the relative impact of each model on child removals and short‐term foster care placements. An extensive review of the research literature is used to derive lessons for jurisdictions using the different models. Promising strategies from several jurisdictions are described as they relate to collaborative investigations, child removal and short‐term placements. Finally, we provide recommendations to improve child protection investigations and reduce the use of short‐term foster care placements.     

Texas college students' opinions of no-smoking policies, secondhand smoke, and smoking in public places

Abstract. The authors examined college student opinions of no-smoking policies, secondhand smoke, and smoking in public places. A convenience sample of 1,188 (66.4% female; 26.9% White, 64.1% Black, and 9.0% Hispanic) students attending 5 Texas colleges volunteered to complete a 60-item anonymous survey on tobacco attitudes and behaviors. Results of our study showed that women, Black students, and nonsmoking students reported the most favorable attitudes toward no smoking. Male students, white students, and students who smoked in the past 30 days (current smokers) reported the least favorable attitudes. The lowest level of agreement by all subgroups was provided for prohibiting smoking everywhere on campus (inside and outside of buildings). Implications for tobacco control on college campuses are discussed.     

氮供给对中度水分胁迫的番茄植株渗透调节的影响

对造成水分亏缺的沙土盆栽的番茄植株 (Lycopersionexcalentum Mill)设置了 3种施氮水平 ,研究其对渗透调节的影响。采用每日滴灌的方式 ,使植株保持在田间持水量水平的土壤中 ,直至胁迫发生。每处理灌溉量为 1 0 0ml,氮 0 (N0 )处理为荷格兰特 (Hoagland)培养液 ;氮 1(N1 )处理为Hoagland培养液加 60mmolNO-3 ;氮 2 (N2 )处理 :为Hoagland培养液加 1 1 0mmolNO-3 。停止灌溉 3d后 ,叶片渗透调节百分率 (叶片实际渗透势占供水良好状态下叶片渗透势的百分数 )分别为N0植株 44%,N1植株 63%,N2植株 2 9%。停止供水 8d后的百分率与之相似。在停止供水 3d后 ,对一些植株恢复每天灌溉。当胁迫解除结束时 (灌溉 8d后 ) ,叶片渗透势较低 ( - 1 .8MPa) ,在Nl中仍保持着渗透调节的状态 ( 39%) ,这与水势降低的情况下 ,膨压的保持有关。结果表明 ,N1处理可能具有增强番茄植株避脱水性和耐脱性的效应     

Back to Basics

Nonprofits are under increased accountability pressures to demonstrate their effectiveness. Output measurement (how much is produced) is disregarded as simplistic. Emphasis is made instead on measuring outcomes (changes in the lives of beneficiaries) or impacts (effects developed relative to the mission of the nonprofit, or the overall public good), and a growing portion of organizations state that they measure these effects. However, we question the assumption that outputs such as the number of beneficiaries served are being adequately measured. We first review existing research gaps on results measurement practices and discuss the main types of obstacles to the quality and utility of evaluation data. In this context, we argue for the need to reground nonprofit evaluation in the profound knowledge available about beneficiary populations. We discuss the potential and limitations of reach, a basic output indicator that is defined as the number of individuals directly affected by a nonprofit, and explore the organizational drivers of reach measurement. Evidence from 2,229 nonprofits shows they still lack adequate data on the beneficiaries they serve, face relevant conceptual and practical hurdles when trying to identify them, and are significantly influenced by organizational factors in their capacity to track them. Our research not only shows that nonprofits fail to adequately measure outputs, but also that measuring the number of beneficiaries served and how they are served is not as straightforward as outcome and impact advocates suggest. Practitioners and funders are reminded of the need to place beneficiaries at the core of their evaluation efforts.     

The raise estimator estimation,inference, and properties

Several methods using different approaches have been developed to remedy the consequences of collinearity. To the best of our knowledge, only the raise estimator proposed by García et al. (2010 García, C.B., García, J., Soto, J. (2010). The raise method: An alternative procedure to estimate the parameters in presence of collinearity. Qual. Quantity 45(2):403–423.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) deals with this problem from a geometric perspective. This article fully develops the raise estimator for a model with two standardized explanatory variables. Inference in the raise estimator is examined, showing that it can be obtained from ordinary least squares methodology. In addition, contrary to what happens in ridge regression, the raise estimator maintains the coefficient of determination value constant. The expression of the variance inflation factor for the raise estimator is also presented. Finally, a comparative study of the raise and ridge estimators is carried out using an example.     

What Men Who Have Sex With Men in Peru Want in Internet-Based Sexual Health Information

We aimed to gather information among gay men regarding their preferences for online sexual health information; 1,160 Peruvian MSM, 18 years or older, completed an online survey hosted on www.tunexo.org. The mean age was 26.8 years. Around 90% had post–high school education. The self-reported HIV prevalence was 12.3%. The acceptability of sexual health content was greater in the most highly educated group. The highest rated topics and services of interest were those related to improving sexual and mental health. The least educated group was significantly more interested in “getting prevention messages on mobiles” compared to men with the highest level of education (71% vs. 52%; p < 0.001). Men’s sexual health was of more interest to the 30–39-year-old group compared to the 18–24-year-old one (97% vs. 87%; p = 0.005). Future Web-based interventions related to sexual health among targeted groups of MSM in Peru can be tailored to meet their preferences.     

The impact of international migration on the public pension system: The case of Portugal

This article analyses the impact of replacement migration on the financial sustainability of the old‐age pension system in Portugal, a country with one of the largest ageing populations in Europe. We do this using demographic forecasts and prospective exercises for the evolution of the Portuguese economy. During the 2015–2060 period, our results evidence the positive impacts of international migration on old‐age pension system financial balances, reaching over 3 per cent of GDP after 2045. Moreover, even when taking into considering the low dynamics for the Portuguese economy, replacement migration is an important input to improve pension system financial sustainability.     

Politics and Promises: Exploring Fifteen Years of Peru’s Participatory Decentralization Reform

Public Organization Review - In 2001, Peruvians passed the most comprehensive and participatory decentralization reform in the country’s history. The reform contributed to widespread optimism...