Optimal Information Processing and Bayes's Theorem

In this article statistical inference is viewed as information processing involving input information and output information. After introducing information measures for the input and output information, an information criterion functional is formulated and optimized to obtain an optimal information processing rule (IPR). For the particular information measures and criterion functional adopted, it is shown that Bayes's theorem is the optimal IPR. This optimal IPR is shown to be 100% efficient in the sense that its use leads to the output information being exactly equal to the given input information. Also, the analysis links Bayes's theorem to maximum-entropy considerations.     

Self-employment and economic leadership as two promising perspectives on rural disability and work

A defining difference between rural and urban circumstances for people with disabilities involves opportunities for work. One of the most significant elements of the rural context is that economic conditions in rural communities consistently trail the national economy. This paper presents an overview of disability in rural America and outlines an ecological model for guiding the development of rural solutions to rehabilitation problems. Two promising examples of such solutions, self-employment as a rural vocational rehabilitation employment option and rural economic leadership by people with disabilities, are outlined.     

Halfway There? Policy,Politics and Outcomes in Community Care

The community care reforms which followed the 1989 White Paper "Caring for People"were apparently focused on addressing the needs of people requiring long-term care, and on achieving improved outcomes and better quality of life.
The agenda set out by the White Paper was for community care in the next decade and beyond. Half way through this decade, we question the extent to which the objectives of promoting choice and independence for users and carers have been achieved. The paper draws particularly on a programme of monitoring conducted jointly by the Nuffield Institute for Health and the King's Fund, based on national and local focus groups meeting over a two-year period. It proposes a framework for evaluation which consists of four components: the definition of desired outcomes; specification of service systems necessary to deliver such outcomes; promotion of access to services; and the development of supporting operational policies and resource allocation mechanisms.
This framework offers a substantial step beyond much of the monitoring of the community care reforms which has taken place to date. This has assessed progress largely in terms of the establishment of new systems and processes. We conclude that such changes were essential building blocks for delivering better-quality community care services, and in the short term it may have been legitimate to view their establishment as proxies for progress towards delivering user-centred services. However, monitoring and evaluation should now be increasingly oriented towards ensuring that these changes are in fact producing the desired service outputs and urn outcomes. We propose that our framework offers one such way forward.     

Divorce Counseling or Marriage Therapy? A Therapeutic Option

Divorce, if properly orchestrated by a specially trained therapist, can be a liberating experience that promotes, rather than undermines, family solidarity. Of course, a happy marriage is preferable to an amicable divorce, but some marriages are beyond repair. Gross incompatibility often leads to "emotional blackmail" and other coercive states within an unhappy marriage. The present paper, through the use of several case histories, addresses the foregoing issues and also delineates effective marital therapy strategies. The rationale and implementation of creative divorce counseling is also described.     

Perspectives on work (re)entry for persons with disabilities: implications for clinicians

Despite the prevalence of government funding to support employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, real jobs for this population still appear to be elusive. McMaster University researchers examined how six stakeholder groups defined workplace (re)entry success for persons with disabilities. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with representation from employers, unions, persons with disabilities, co-workers, supervisors and human resource departments. Participants numbered 86 and the average age was 42. Participant comments provided the researchers with rich data related to the study objectives. Success was perceived as not only a match between the employee and the job but also a win-win for employer and employer, a uniquely defined set of circumstances based on the specific individual and their environment as well as respect for the individual's dignity and quality of life. This article discusses the study and its outcomes and highlights implications for clinicians.     

Stalking and psychological abuse: common factors and relationship-specific characteristics

The purpose of this study was to refine and elaborate models of personality and relationship-specific characteristics in the perpetration of stalking and psychological abuse. Three hundred and forty-two college students who had been in intimate relationships completed a series of questionnaires about their most recent breakup and their former relationship. Our hypotheses were supported, with harsh parental discipline, anxious attachment, and need for control of one's partner forming a common cluster in the prediction of stalking and psychological abuse. For psychological abuse, relationship dissatisfaction added to the predictive factors; whereas for stalking, the level of anger-jealousy over the breakup was the major added factor. Degree of anger-jealousy was influenced by being the recipient of a breakup and the level of passion.     

Treatment of incarcerated, sexually-abused adolescent females: an outcome study

This study examined the psychosocial functioning of 100 adolescent females (ages 12-17) sentenced to secure care in a southeastern state and the impact of gender-specific, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention on the psychosocial functioning of subjects who reported a history of sexual abuse. The Multidimensional Adolescent Assessment Scale (MAAS) was used to assess psychosocial functioning. Pre-test scores on the MAAS revealed significantly higher scores on 12 of 16 dimensions of psychosocial functioning and higher rates of serious criminal behavior for youth who subsequently disclosed sexual abuse histories as compared to those without such histories. At post-test, statistically significant improvements in psychosocial functioning were observed on 14 of 16 MAAS subscales for those who received the CBT intervention. Thus, incarcerated female adolescents who reported a history of sexual abuse demonstrated more impairment in their functioning as compared to those without a reported history of sexual abuse and responded positively to gender-specific, CBT-based intervention.     

Engaging Intercollegiate Athletes in Preventing and Intervening in Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Objective: The object of this exploratory evaluation was to evaluate the “Bringing in the Bystander” sexual and intimate partner violence prevention program with a new sample of intercollegiate athletes. Participants and Methods: Fifty-three male and female athletes participated in the program (experimental group), and 86 were in the control group. All completed pretest, posttest, and 2-month follow-up surveys, including assessment of rape myth acceptance, intent to engage in bystander behaviors, bystander confidence, and bystander behaviors. Results: The program worked overall and for both women and men, improved bystander confidence and intent to engage in bystander behaviors, and did not create significant backlash effects (ie, worsening of attitudes as a result of program). Conclusions: The program fits with the intent of the National Collegiate Athletic Association CHAMPS/Life Skills program regarding its focus on the overall development of student-athletes and demonstrates the promising bystander approach compatible with the 2007 American College Health Association toolkit, Shifting the Paradigm: Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence.