Community-based addiction treatment staff attitudes about the usefulness of evidence-based addiction treatment and CBO organizational linkages to research institutions

This national study of community-based addiction-treatment organizations' (CBOs) implementation of evidence-based practices explored CBO Program Directors' (n=296) and clinical staff (n=518) attitudes about the usefulness of science-based addiction treatment. Through multivariable regression modeling, the study identified that identical factors were associated with directors, and staff attitudes about the usefulness of science-based addiction treatment. For both directors and staff working in an organization that was affiliated with a research institution, working in an organization with better internet technology (measured through TCU-ORC scores) and having higher levels of education were all significantly associated with having more positive attitudes regarding science-based addiction treatment. Implications: government policy that promotes the hiring of addiction treatment clinical staff with professional degrees and encourages the development of linkages between addiction treatment researchers and treatment staff may positively impact attitudes and use of evidence-based addiction treatment practices (EBPs) in CBOs.     

Strategic versus non-strategic voting power in the EU Council of Ministers: the consultation procedure

This article evaluates the distribution of power within the Council of the European Union from the a priori perspective of constitutional design using two distinct approaches: (1) applying traditional voting power indices; (2) carrying out strategic equilibrium analysis of the EU’s consultation procedure. It clarifies why both approaches lead to different power indications, and investigates the determinants of the differences’ magnitudes. Depending on one’s assumptions about behavior of the consultation procedure’s agenda setter, the European Commission, traditional indices turn out to deliver a good approximation also of relative strategic power in the Council.     

Gendered Analyses of Nutrient Deficiencies Among the Elderly

This paper examines the factors that are associated with nutrient intake status of the elderly. Our study places special attention on the roles of physical functions, mental health, and dietary knowledge on the risk of inadequate nutrition consumption (nutrition consumption deficiencies). Using a nationwide survey of the elderly in Taiwan, we conduct empirical analysis separately by gender. Our results suggest that improving the physical conditions of male elders, the mental health of female elders, and dietary knowledge can decrease the nutrient consumption deficiencies of the elderly.     

What is Loss Aversion?

A behavioral definition of loss aversion is proposed and its implications for original and cumulative prospect theory are analyzed. Original prospect theory is in agreement with the new loss aversion condition, and there utility is capturing all effects of loss aversion. In cumulative prospect theory loss aversion is captured by both the weighting functions and the utility function. Further, some restrictions apply for the weighting functions involved in the latter model.We are indebted to Michèle Cohen and Peter Wakker for helpful comments. The suggestions of an anonymous referee have improved the presentation of the paper.     

HERE WE GO AGAIN: MAPS, TERRITORIES, INTERPRETATIONS, AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN "THE" AND "A" OR "AN"

Humpty Dumpty was dead wrong when he said, "When I use a word hellip; it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less.""The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things" (Carroll, 1972, p. 90).
And Humpty Dumpty was quite right when he continued, "The question is hellip; which is to be master-that's all" (Carroll, 1972, p. 90). And the answer is, it is the word that is master not its user. A word always means more and less than we, as users, as authors, mean it to mean.     

On the Bayesian analysis of categorical data: the problem of nonresponse

It is demonstrated how a suitably chosen prior for the frequency parameters can streamline the Bayesian analysis of categorical data with missing entries due to nonresponse or other causes. The two cases where the data follow the Multinomial or the Hypergeometric model are treated separately. In the first case it is adequate to restrict the prior (for the cell probabilities) to the class of Dirichlet distributions. In the case of the Hypergeometric model it is convenient to select a prior from the class of Dirichlet-Multinomial (DM) distributions. The DM distributions are studied in some details.     

SOLUTION-FOCUSED THERAPY: TOWARD THE IDENTIFICATION OF THERAPEUTIC TASKS*

Brief therapy has often been regarded as “problem solving therapy.” This article discusses the development of a solution-focused approach to clinical practice. Solution-focused therapeutic tasks and interventions are described.