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%.     

Racial/Ethnic Minority Vocational Research Trends: An 11‐Year Update

This study extends Flores et al.'s ( 2006 ) 36‐year analysis of racial/ethnic minority (REM) career research to identify recent trends in choice of topics and leading individual and institutional contributors. The authors identified 166 articles on REM career research published from 2005 to 2015 in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, The Career Development Quarterly, the Journal of Career Assessment, and the Journal of Career Development. Of these studies, 92% were empirical, with more than three quarters of these using quantitative rather than qualitative methodology. Most frequently, the empirical studies (n = 153) were based on samples of high school (30.7%) or undergraduate (34.6%) students. The authors discuss the implications of their findings and suggest ways to expand REM career research in the future.     

A Systems Approach to Social Entrepreneurship

Currently, disabilities organizations are increasingly being challenged by the requirement for individualized service, expectations to show personal outcomes, and the need to base their services on evidence-based practices. Social entrepreneurship (SE) is being put forward as an innovative approach for dealing with these challenges. This article presents a systems approach to SE based on a program logic model. This model identifies the input factors (a strong social vision, exploiting opportunities, maximizing resources), throughput strategies (entrepreneurial orientation, critical thinking skills, networking, capacity building), and outcome components (improving people’s lives, community-building, improving society) of SE at the micro, meso, and macro level. Also, the importance of planning for contextual changes as a social entrepreneur is discussed. The article concludes with presenting three inspiring practices regarding SE in the field of disabilities organizations.     

Stepchildren’s Communicative and Emotional Journey from Divorce to Remarriage: Predictors of Stepfamily Satisfaction

This study explores the emotional and communicative profiles of young adults who have experienced a parental divorce and the emergence of a stepfamily to better understand influences on stepfamily satisfaction. Results of regression analyses indicate that strong negative emotions experienced at the time of the divorce are a negative predictor of current stepfamily satisfaction, even after controlling for age at the time of the divorce. In addition, level of open self-disclosure to a stepparent, although not parents, is a positive predictor of current stepfamily satisfaction. Finally, the extent to which the father has now fully explained the circumstances of the divorce is a positive predictor of current stepfamily satisfaction, whereas the extent to which mother has now fully explained the circumstances of the divorce is a negative predictor of current stepfamily satisfaction. These findings are discussed and future directions for research on stepfamily interaction and satisfaction are offered.     

Contrasting strategies for tree species to cope with heat and dry conditions at urban sites

Street trees planted at tree pits with impermeable pavements are exposed to a high level of both, atmospheric and edaphic stress. For many species tree physiology, optimal growth, and consequently long-term vitality may be hampered under these harsh conditions. Therefore, maintaining the vitality and promoting the ecosystem services provided by urban trees, for example aesthetic values and microclimatic benefits, it is important to establish trees with a high tolerance to stressful urban environments. Measurements of leaf gas exchange, leaf water potential, leaf surface temperature and chlorophyll-fluorescence were used for identification of specific response of Corylus corluna L., Ginkgo biloba L., Liriodendron tulipifera L., and Tilia cordata Mill. ‘Greenspire’. The summer months in 2013 with a period of heat and drought over eight weeks only interrupted by two rainy days were appropriate to access tree’s strategies to cope with low water availability. During the measurement period, the influence of high temperatures, high values of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and low soil water availability on stomatal conductance, water-use efficiency (WUE) and leaf water potential (Ψmin, Ψmax ) was highest for Liriodendron followed by Ginkgo. These species showed high reductions in WUE in case of higher air temperatures and high values of VPD. Results indicate an avoidance strategy under increasing heat and VPD. In contrast, Corylus and Tilia followed a tolerance strategy indicated by decreasing values of Ψmin and lower reductions of WUE. In conclusion, wide species-specific variation in response to high temperatures and high VPD indicates that substantial potential exists in the selection for dry and hot urban places.     

Seed limitation and lack of downed wood,not invasive species,threaten conifer regeneration in an urban forest

Urban forests provide valuable ecosystem services, but their long-term viability is often threatened by low tree recruitment due to seed and/or microsite limitation. Distinguishing between these two causes of low recruitment has important management implications, but has been little studied in urban environments. We tested for seed and microsite limitation in an urban forested park in Seattle, Washington, USA by adding conifer tree seeds and seedlings to experimental plots in which we manipulated microsite conditions by removing invasive ivy (Hedera spp.) and adding deadwood. We found that natural seed production was low, and adding seeds increased the number of observed seedlings. Furthermore, adding deadwood increased seedling survival, whereas removing Hedera did not have strong effects. Seed limitation is frequently addressed through management actions such as sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings, and our results suggest that such actions address a critical barrier to tree recruitment in urban forests. However, we also observed strong microsite limitation. At our study site, microsite limitation can be addressed primarily by adding deadwood and retaining coarse woody debris on site. Addressing microsite limitation may be a critical component of successful management efforts to improve tree recruitment in urban forests, and should not be overlooked. Furthermore, our study highlights the need for active monitoring and data analysis alongside management, since the most apparent threat (widespread cover of an invasive plant in this case) may not be the primary limit on suitable microsite conditions.     

Mass-mediated surveillance: borders,mobility, and reality television

This article analyzes the social construction of border surveillance and policing in reality-based television. Utilizing content analytic methods to document and decode popular images of borders, mobility, and insecurity, it assesses three programs from Australia, the UK, and the United States. Despite claims of offering accurate and unfiltered depictions, the programs are ideological and provide visions of enforcement that reinforce stereotypes regarding the risks of permeable borders and exonerate intensive regimes of surveillance and securitization. Our findings suggest this occurs in three ways. First, the programs inflate the extent and seriousness of lawlessness associated with cross-border movement. Second, they offer individualistic explanations of crime that cite personal choices and pathologies as determinants. Finally, alongside neglecting their perspectives and interpretations of events, when compared to the reality of official statistics, the programs disproportionately feature suspected offenders as members of marginalized groups. The social and political implications of these findings are discussed.     

A meta-analysis of the pique technique of compliance

A random-effects meta-analysis was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the pique technique of compliance-gaining. Results indicated an overall significant effect of the pique technique on increased compliance rate across 17 comparisons (r = .27). Moderator analyses showed the technique worked significantly better than controls in gaining compliance when a smaller amount was requested, when the reason for the request was included, and when the technique was used in France. In addition, the pique technique was more successful than control requests in terms of the total amount of money or time given by participants and the percentage of participants inquiring about the requests. Theoretical and practical implications for the success of pique technique are discussed for future research.     

A direct procedure for monitoring the coefficient of variation using a variable sample size scheme

A variable sample size (VSS) scheme directly monitoring the coefficient of variation (CV), instead of monitoring the transformed statistics, is proposed. Optimal chart parameters are computed based on two criteria: (i) minimizing the out-of-control ARL (ARL₁) and (ii) minimizing the out-of-control ASS (ASS₁). Then the performances are compared between these two criteria. The advantages of the proposed chart over the VSS chart based on the transformed statistics in the existing literature are: the former (i) provides an easier alternative as no transformation is involved and (ii) requires less number of observations to detect a shift when ASS₁ is minimized.     

Objective Bayesian inference for the ratio of the scale parameters of two Weibull distributions

The Weibull distribution is widely used due to its versatility and relative simplicity. In our paper, the non informative priors for the ratio of the scale parameters of two Weibull models are provided. The asymptotic matching of coverage probabilities of Bayesian credible intervals is considered, with the corresponding frequentist coverage probabilities. We developed the various priors for the ratio of two scale parameters using the following matching criteria: quantile matching, matching of distribution function, highest posterior density matching, and inversion of test statistics. One particular prior, which meets all the matching criteria, is found. Next, we derive the reference priors for groups of ordering. We see that all the reference priors satisfy a first-order matching criterion and that the one-at-a-time reference prior is a second-order matching prior. A simulation study is performed and an example given.