A Functional Analysis of Non-Vocal Verbal Behavior of a Young Child With Autism

The functions of an American Sign Language response were experimentally evaluated with a young boy diagnosed with autism. A functional analysis procedure based on that reported by Lerman et al. (2005) was used to evaluate whether the target sign response would occur under mand, tact, mimetic, or control conditions. The target sign was observed most often in the mand and mimetic test conditions, very seldom in the tact test condition, and never in the control condition. These results support those reported by Lerman et al. and extend previous research by evaluating a non-vocal verbal response using a brief multi-element arrangement with a single control condition. The implications for language assessment and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Understanding Attachment Transitions Through the Lived Experiences of Young Black Gay and Bisexual Men

We conducted a mixed-methods study to identify factors that influence transitions in attachment style between childhood and adulthood among 28 young Black gay and bisexual men (YBGBM) in the United States. We used a phenomenological approach to data integration, with the major component to the results being garnered from the qualitative interviews. We organized our results by four attachment transition groups: stable secure (secure attachment in childhood and young adulthood), stable insecure (insecure attachment in childhood and young adulthood), secure to insecure (secure in childhood and insecure in adulthood) and insecure to secure (insecure in childhood and secure in adulthood). Within each of the typologies, two major themes emerged: social support and religion. Generally, transitions from secure to insecure attachment were related to experiences of perceived rejection by a parental figure during adolescence that corresponded with sexual orientation disclosure. Transitions from insecure to secure attachment appeared to be related to the absence of an attachment figure early in life, but with the acquisition of an attachment figure during early to late adolescence. The findings from our study suggest a need for attachment-based approaches to social support interventions, as well as for an increased understanding of social and cultural factors that impact attachment changes among practitioners who use attachment-based therapy models for YBGBM.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Substance Use History among Vulnerable Older Adults Living in Public Housing

ABSTRACT

Previous research shows strong correlations between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and later life health. The current study examines the relationship between ACEs and substance use among older adults living in public housing. Results show that about one-third of participants had four or more ACEs, and ACE score predicted likelihood of substance use history. Over half of older adults with four or more ACEs experienced substance abuse in their lifetime compared to one out of ten older adults with less than four ACEs. Findings shed light on a vulnerable group and point to next steps in research and practice.     

Multifamily Group Intervention for Chinese Parents and Their Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Chinese Context

Despite the empirical evidence of multifamily group (MFG) in helping children with mental health needs in Western contexts, there is a dearth of clinical studies in Chinese societies such as Hong Kong to explore such adaption to help Chinese families of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this article, the authors describe the MFG model adapted to the Chinese context and assess the perceived helpfulness of the intervention, using a client-driven approach in evaluation. The parents’ evaluation toward the MFG program is positive whereas the children’s feedback is less favorable. Modifications have been made including a 30-minute pregroup meeting for the parents and more challenging games and outdoor activities for the children.     

Nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for children in foster care

Over the past decade an interest in fathers and their contributions to family stability and children's healthy development has heightened the attention paid within the child welfare field to identifying, locating, and involving fathers. The article presents findings from analyses of data on nonresident fathers and child welfare case outcomes for foster children. Using data available from a telephone survey of child welfare caseworkers, together with administrative data on case outcomes, a positive association between nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for foster children is shown. The sample of foster children with nonresident fathers who provided financial support, nonfinancial support, or both types of supports, were far more likely to experience a reunification outcome than children whose fathers did not provide these supports. The findings demonstrate associations between support and reunification but cannot demonstrate causality given the cross-sectional nature of the dataset. More research is needed to better understand the nature of nonresident father support in the lives of foster children, and the quantity and quality of interactions between mothers, nonresident fathers, and their children.     

A critical review of race and ethnicity in the leadership literature: Surfacing context,power and the collective dimensions of leadership

Leadership studies focusing on race–ethnicity provide particularly rich contexts to illuminate the human condition as it pertains to leadership. Yet insights about the leadership experience of people of color from context-rich research within education, communications and black studies remain marginal in the field. Our framework integrates these, categorizing reviewed studies according to the effects of race–ethnicity on perceptions of leadership, the effects of race–ethnicity on leadership enactments, and actors' approach to the social reality of race–ethnicity. The review reveals a gradual convergence of theories of leadership and theories of race–ethnicity as their relational dimensions are increasingly emphasized. A shift in the conceptualization of race–ethnicity in relation to leadership is reported, from a constraint to a personal resource to a simultaneous consideration of its constraining and liberating capacity. Concurrent shifts in the treatment of context, power, agency versus structure and causality are also explored, as are fertile areas for future research.     

Robust sure independence screening for nonpolynomial dimensional generalized linear models

We consider the problem of variable screening in ultra-high-dimensional generalized linear models (GLMs) of nonpolynomial orders. Since the popular SIS approach is extremely unstable in the presence of contamination and noise, we discuss a new robust screening procedure based on the minimum density power divergence estimator (MDPDE) of the marginal regression coefficients. Our proposed screening procedure performs well under pure and contaminated data scenarios. We provide a theoretical motivation for the use of marginal MDPDEs for variable screening from both population as well as sample aspects; in particular, we prove that the marginal MDPDEs are uniformly consistent leading to the sure screening property of our proposed algorithm. Finally, we propose an appropriate MDPDE-based extension for robust conditional screening in GLMs along with the derivation of its sure screening property. Our proposed methods are illustrated through extensive numerical studies along with an interesting real data application.     

Adolescents and Music Media: Toward an Involvement‐Mediational Model of Consumption and Self‐Concept

Using social cognitive theory and structural regression modeling, we examined pathways between early adolescents' music media consumption, involvement with music media, and 3 domains of self‐concept (physical appearance, romantic appeal, and global self‐worth; N=124). A mediational model was supported for 2 domains of self‐concept. Music media consumption was positively associated with adolescents' involvement with media focusing on music personae. Higher involvement was associated with perceiving the self as less physically attractive and having lower overall self‐worth. Music media consumption was directly related to adolescents' evaluations of their own romantic appeal. Results suggest that through involvement processes with music media characters, adolescents may use music media as a venue for social comparison against which they evaluate their own physical attractiveness and self‐worth. Music media consumption may also provide social modeling for normative expectations about romantic relationships regardless of the level of involvement. Gender differences were nonsignificant in the mediational model.     

The role of training in the development of human resource management in Australian organisations

This paper analyses the impact that nationally recognised training has had on the practice of human resource management in Australian organisations. Since the late 1980s, the Australian vocational education and training system has undergone major reforms. These reforms have been aimed at making training more relevant to the needs of Australian business. A key development in training reform has been the emergence of Training Packages, sets of occupational competency standards, qualifications and assessment guidelines covering most jobs in the economy. The research reported in this paper shows how nationally recognised training in the form of Training Package qualifications has been taken up by Australian employers and has begun to re-shape not only training practices but also broader approaches to human resource management. Many employers are now using the competency standards contained in Training Packages to underpin other human resource management practices such as recruitment and selection, performance management and management development. The use of consistent national standards to underpin these activities has led to better alignment and integration of human resource management in some organisations, as predicted by theories of bundling in the strategic human resource management literature.     

Human Trafficking in Australia: The Challenge of Responding to Suspicious Activities

This paper relates to the Australian government's community awareness campaign, as part of the Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons, which was announced in October 2003 in response to evidence of human trafficking in Australia. The authors explore the challenges that are likely to be encountered during the implementation of the campaign using empirical data from two Victorian studies, the first of which explored community awareness of trafficking and the second of which examined Victoria Police and local government's responses to trafficking. We conclude that there are significant barriers to both the community and authorities identifying suspicious activities and acting on reports by community. In addition, institution challenges faced by Victoria police and local government in dealing with referred information appropriately will jeopardise the success of the initiative.