Effects of Strength of Accent on an L2 Interactive Lecture Listening Comprehension Test

This article reports on a study which aimed to determine the effect of strength of accent on listening comprehension of interactive lectures. Test takers (N = 21,726) listened to an interactive lecture given by one of nine speakers and responded to six comprehension items. The test taker responses were analyzed with the Rasch computer program WINSTEPS to investigate the relative difficulty of the items associated with the nine versions of the interactive lectures. Results indicated that comprehension of interactive lectures was diminished with quite light accents, as has been found with monologic lectures.     

“Inclusive Entrepreneurship”: A Process for Improving Self-Employment for People with Disabilities

ABSTRACT

This article describes the theoretical framework, processes, and outcomes associated with a U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Programs (ODEP)-funded project: “Start-UP NY.” Beginning in 2007, ODEP funded three Start-UP projects throughout the United States to test and demonstrate improved practices supporting entrepreneurship among people with diverse disabilities, including those with mental illnesses and veterans with disabilities. The New York project coined the term “Inclusive Entrepreneurship” to describe a model that promoted change at the individual, program, and systems level to improve the rate of small business development by people with disabilities. The author describes the genesis of the project, its intended effects and the lessons learned along the way that resulted in either course corrections or improvements, He then discusses how the project has been sustained and provides recommendations for replicating the project’s approach and methods in other United States communities or in other countries.     

Changes in Youths' Perceived Parental Acceptance of Their Sexual Minority Status Over Time

This cross‐sectional, retrospective mixed‐method exploratory study examined 140 Israeli LGB adolescents' (14–21 year old) perceptions of their parents' level of acceptance at time of same‐sex identity disclosure and currently. Approximately 75% of respondents indicated that parents were moderately to fully accepting at time of disclosure. Approximately 15% said their parents were fully or almost fully rejecting at time of disclosure, with about half eventually becoming more accepting. Perceived parental acceptance of gay and lesbian children, but not bisexual daughters, improved over time. Increased parental acceptance was attributed to multiple factors including repeated adolescent‐initiated conversations about sexual identity, parental exposure to LGB individuals, and parental love and commitment to the relationship.     

Transforming gender roles in domestic and caregiving work: preliminary findings from engaging fathers in maternal,newborn, and child health in Rwanda

This article draws on Promundo and RWAMREC's programmatic experiences in Rwanda of implementing MenCare+, a gender transformative approach to engaging young and adult men (ages 15–35) in caregiving, maternal, newborn, and child health, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. We present initial results from fathers' groups with more than 600 men, including the impact of participation in these groups on men's participation in care work. The results confirm the importance for practitioners' planning strategies to engage fathers to think beyond men's token participation in care work, to use father participation as an entry point to truly transform gender dynamics within the home. The article provides practical lessons learnt to guide other organisations interested in working with men to transform norms around fatherhood and care work.     

Measuring step geometry using the Nose-to-Nose method: validity and repeatability

Precise measurement of stairway geometry is important in order to establish whether a stairway meets design goals, standards and codes. The Traditional method of measuring risers and runs (goings) does not measure the stairs in the way that codes define risers and runs, and does not measure the stairs in the way users experience them. The Nose-to-Nose method does. This study was conducted to determine the validity and repeatability of this method. Two researchers used this method to study the risers and runs on two separate stairways, one carpeted and the other not. Results demonstrated a high degree of validity and repeatability.     

Looking at Smelser’s Theory of Collective Behavior After Almost 50 Years: A Review and Appreciation

A half century has gone by since the publication of Neil Smelser’s classic book on the Theory of Collective Behavior. The re-issue of the book triggered these observations in which I reflect on the fate of old books; trace a bit of the book’s genealogy; note changes in the field; and argue that Smelser’s book is really four books in one with varying impact over the decades and likely to be of varying interest to current scholars—an application of Parsonian theory to conflict and change; an elaboration of key concepts found with collective behavior which involves “uninstitutionalized mobilization to reconstitute components of social action on the basis of a generalized belief”; an elaboration of variables such as objective conditions of the social order, perceptions and belief systems required to understand the topic; and a comprehensive summary and critique of relevant empirical and theoretical work on collective behavior through the 1950s. Based on criticisms of the book, I suggest some areas that should be addressed were the book to be revised.     

Information for Clinical Social Work Practice: A Potential Solution

The field of social work requires knowledgeable, skilled and self-confident professionals. We assume that many of these social workers will have less than optimal access to professionally relevant information, within and outside of their workplaces. We also assume that they, like others searching for information, will have a limited set of search skills yet will want to obtain the information for practice they need as easily as possible. Finally, we assume they will continue turning to the Internet to access relevant information. This paper describes Information for Practice (IP), an Internet service designed for social work practitioners based on these assumptions. Data regarding use of this service are presented.     

Predicting Loss of Life in Cases of Dam Failure and Flash Flood

This paper improves upon previous attempts to predict loss of life (LOL) from severe flooding events. An expression for LOL in terms of warning time (WT), the size of the population at risk (PAR), and the forcefulness of the flood waters (Force) is derived from the historical record of dam failures and flash flood cases via logistic regression. There is no evidence for an effect of prior flooding experience or an interaction between WT and PAR, as has been suggested elsewhere. Guidelines are suggested for the proper use of the final equations and the findings are discussed in relation to a theoretical model of flood fatalities.