How Does Occupational Access for Older Workers Differ by Education?

To assess the employment opportunities of older job-changers in the years prior to retirement, this study examines the how the breadth of occupations in which they find employment narrows as they age past their prime working years and how this differs by gender and educational attainment. The results indicate that workers who change jobs in their early 50s find employment in a reasonably similar set of occupations as prime-age workers, with opportunities narrowing at older ages. They also indicate that job opportunities broadened significantly for better-educated older workers since the late 1990s. While job opportunities now narrow significantly for less-educated men in their late 50s, this narrowing primarily occurs in the early 60s for women and better-educated men. In contrast to previous research, the study finds that employer policies that emphasize hiring from within are less important barriers to the hiring of older job-seekers. The study also finds that the narrowing of job opportunities is associated with a general decline in job quality as measured by median occupational earnings, a decline associated with differences in occupational skill requirements and the underlying economic environment. These results suggest that older hiring is not as limited to a select few occupations as it had been in previous decades, and that policy reforms aimed at increasing opportunities and improving labor market fluidity might best be served if they focused on less-educated men.     

Performance Pay,the Gender Gap,and Specialization within Marriage

We show that the large gender earnings gap at the top of the distribution (the glass ceiling) and the motherhood penalty are associated with each other and that both are uniquely associated with performance pay. These patterns appear consistent with specialization by gender. We show that among married couples with children, the hours worked by wives are strongly and persistently negatively correlated with earnings of the husbands only when those husbands work in performance pay jobs. There is no correlation between husbands’ hours and wives’ earnings.     

Community Informant Explanations for Unusual Neighborhood Rates of Child Maltreatment Reports

This study explored perceptions of community informants on socioenvironmental factors that explain why rates of child maltreatment reporting are different in neighborhoods with similar population characteristics. This study used data from the SoCal Neighborhoods and Child Welfare study, a multiphase, mixed-methods study of neighborhoods in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Semistructured qualitative interviews with key informants (N = 28) in 22 census tracts explored factors that account for differences in maltreatment rates among sociodemographically similar neighborhoods. Thematic content analysis revealed three themes regarding neighborhood contributors to maltreatment behaviors and reporting: (a) community norms and values, (b) community resources and providers, and (c) housing dynamics and built environment. Findings indicate complexity in forces that affect maltreatment behavior and reporting. Adding to research on neighborhood social dynamics and child maltreatment, findings suggest that composite indicators of maltreatment within neighborhoods are affected by maltreatment behaviors and the definition, recognition, and reporting of maltreatment.     

Sexual orientation differences in HIV testing motivation among college men

Objective: To investigate sexual orientation differences in college men's motivations for HIV testing. Participants: 665 male college students in the Southeastern United States from 2006 to 2014. Methods: Students completed a survey on HIV risk factors and testing motivations. Logistic regressions were conducted to determine the differences between heterosexual men (HM) and sexual minority men (SMM). Results: SMM were more motivated to get tested by concern over past condomless sex, while HM were more often cited supporting the testing program “on principle” and wanting a free t-shirt. SMM and HM differed in behaviors that impact HIV risk and other demographics. However, differences in testing motivation by concern over past condomless sex or wanting a free t-shirt persisted when controlling for these demographic and behavioral differences. Conclusions: Appropriately designed HIV prevention interventions on college campuses should target SMM's distinct concern over past condomless sex as a testing motivation.     

Promoting healthy transition to college through mindfulness training with first-year college students: Pilot randomized controlled trial

Objective: Given the importance of developmental transitions on young adults' lives and the high rates of mental health issues among U.S. college students, first-year college students can be particularly vulnerable to stress and adversity. This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness and feasibility of mindfulness training aiming to promote first-year college students' health and wellbeing. Participants: 109 freshmen were recruited from residential halls (50% Caucasian, 66% female). Data collection was completed in November 2014. Methods: A randomized control trial was conducted utilizing the Learning to BREATHE (L2B) program, a universal mindfulness program adapted to match the developmental tasks of college transition. Results: Participation in the pilot intervention was associated with significant increase in students' life satisfaction, and significant decrease in depression and anxiety. Marginally significant decrease was found for sleep issues and alcohol consequences. Conclusions: Mindfulness-based programs may be an effective strategy to enhance a healthy transition into college.     

Establishing Derived Equivalence Relations of Basic Geography Skills in Children with Autism

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - The present study evaluated the efficacy of a stimulus-equivalence training procedure in teaching basic geography skills to two children with autism. The...     

Empirical Application of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior to Interventions for Children with Autism: A Review

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - Sundberg and Michael (2011) reviewed the contributions of Skinner’s (1957) Verbal Behavior to the treatment of language delays in children with autism...     

Using clinical signs of neglect to identify elder neglect cases

Elder neglect is the one of the most pervasive forms of mistreatment, and often the only place outside of the individual’s residence to identify and assist neglected individuals is in a medical setting. However, elder neglect cases treated in hospitals do not present with a single diagnosis or clinical sign, but rather involve a complex constellation of clinical signs. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive guidelines on which clinical signs to use in screening tools for neglect among patients treated in hospitals. Using the DELPHI method, a group of experts developed and tested a scale to be used as a pre-screener that conceptually could be integrated into electronic health record systems so that it could identify potential neglect cases in an automated manner. By applying the scale as a pre-screener for neglect, the tool would reduce the pool of at-risk patients who would benefit from in-depth screening for elder neglect by 95%.     

Disability,personalisation and community arts: exploring the spatial dynamics of children with disabilities participating in inclusive music classes*

This paper uses personalisation and the capabilities approach to explore inclusive music classes for children with disabilities in Scotland. It provides a unique insight into the impact of participation through the voices of the disabled young musicians, their parents and tutors. The study highlights the power of inclusive spaces to transform lives, to build confidence and contest disabled identities. It engages in the spatial dynamic of opening up inclusive spaces, as well as exposing emerging tensions in the liminal space that is created through movement between safe and supported spaces and the antithesis, spaces that disempower and marginalise. The findings suggest good practice around personalisation, when conceived of from a social justice perspective, as a template for working with other marginalised groups and in other professional settings.