Novel Dictation and Intraverbal Responses as a Function of a Multiple Exemplar Instructional History

We tested the effect of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) on acquisition of joint spelling responses, vocal to written and vice versa, for three sets of five words by four kindergarteners with language delays using a delayed multiple probe design. First, students were taught to spell Set 1 as either vocal or written responses (two vocal and two written) and probed on untaught responses. Next students were taught Set 2 using MEI (i.e., alternating responses) and again probed untaught responses for Set 1. Finally, Set 3 was taught in a single response and students were probed on untaught responses. Two students spelled none of Set 1 untaught responses before MEI, while two spelled the words at 60% accuracy or 10% accuracy. After MEI on Set 2, all students spelled untaught responses for Set 1 at 80% to 100% accuracy and Set 3 at 80% to 100% accuracy. The MEI resulted in joint stimulus function such that formerly independent responses came under the same stimulus control. We replicated these results with four other kindergartners with autism who performed academically above their typically developing peers. The results are discussed in terms of Skinner''s treatment of the independence of the two verbal operants.     

The Emergence of the Listener to Speaker Component of Naming in Children as a Function of Multiple Exemplar Instruction

We tested the effect of multiple exemplar instruction on the transfer of stimulus function for unfamiliar pictures across listener responses (i.e., matching and pointing) and speaker responses (i.e., pure tacts and impure tacts). Three preschool students, who were 3- and 4-year-old males and did not have the listener to speaker component of the naming repertoire, participated in the experiment. The dependent variable was numbers of correct responses to probe trials of both untaught listener responses (“point to__”) and speaker responses (tact and impure tacts) following mastery of matching responses for two sets of five unfamiliar pictures (Set 1 and Set 3). After each participant mastered matching (e.g., “match Labrador”) for Set 1 pictures they were probed on the three untaught responses to Set 1 words. That is, they were asked to point to Labrador, tact the picture of Labrador, and respond to the picture of a Labrador and the question “What is this?” Next, the participants were taught mastery of all four types of responses using MEI for a second set of five pictures (Set 2) and probed again on the 3 untaught Set 1 responses. Finally, matching responses were taught to mastery for a novel set of pictures (Set 3) and then probed on the three untaught responses. The results showed that untaught speaker responses emerged at 60% to 85% for two participants, and 40%–70% for one participant. We discuss the role of instructional history in the development of the listener to speaker component of naming.     

Assessing the Effects of Urbanism and Regionalism on Gender‐Role Attitudes, 1974–1998*

In this article, we analyze the effects of urbanism and Southern regionalism on traditional gender‐role attitudes. Our main dependent variable is an index of gender traditionalism constructed from four items asked across several years from 1974 to 1998 by the General Social Survey. As in previous research and consistent with the classical theoretical propositions of Wirth and Stouffer, we find that people living in more urban areas are more likely to hold more contemporary gender‐role attitudes compared to those living in less urban areas, and that those living in the South tend to maintain more traditional attitudes than their non‐Southern counterparts. The propositions of Wirth also predict a convergence in attitudes over time, creating similar attitudes across residential locations. Our findings support this assertion.     

A New Approach to Estimating Life Tables with Covariates and Constructing Interval Estimates of Life Table Quantities

Extant approaches to constructing life tables generally rely on the use of population data, and differences between groups defined by discrete characteristics are examined by disaggregating the data before estimation. When sample data are used, few researchers have attempted to include covariates directly in the process of estimation, and fewer still have attempted to construct interval estimates for state expectancies when covariates are used. In this paper, we present a Bayesian approach that is useful for producing interval estimates for single‐decrement, multiple‐decrement, and multistate life tables. The method involves (1) estimating a hazard or survival model using Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods to produce a sample from the posterior distribution for the parameters of the model; (2) generating distributions of transition probabilities for selected values of covariates using the sample of model parameters; (3) using these distributions of transition probabilities as inputs for life table construction; and (4) summarizing the distribution of life table quantities. We illustrate the method on data simulated from the Berkeley Mortality Database, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (and follow‐ups), and data from the National Long Term Care Survey, and we show how the results can be used for hypothesis testing.     

INTIMATE JUSTICE: CONFRONTING ISSUES OF ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPECT, AND FREEDOM IN TREATMENT FOR ABUSE AND VIOLENCE

Intimate justice theory is a set of nine interrelated concepts that describe the ethical dimensions of equality, fairness, and care in ongoing partnerships. Understanding ethical dimensions involves examining internalized beliefs and behavior in terms of their motivation and impact on the partner, particularly as they empower, disempower, or abuse power. The concepts of intimate justice theory are applied to confront disempowerment and abuses of power, to challenge internalized beliefs about how one should treat one's partner, to explore how internalized beliefs were developed through experiences in the family of origin, and to develop an awareness of the linkages between intimate partner abuse and social injustice. This article demonstrates how therapists can utilize three of the concepts-accountability, respect, and freedom-to structure the opening phase of treatment for abuse and violence. The primary focus of the opening phase is on establishing accountability for change in the abusive man and protecting the safety of the injured partner. This involves challenging the abuser's sense of entitlement and working to rethink what respect is and restoring freedom to his partner. The discussion incorporates the findings of an exploratory, qualitative study that investigated the experiences of 30 abusive men and their partners who were clients in a university-based counseling clinic. The article elaborates six interventions that can be utilized in clinical settings to structure treatment with abusive men.     

Strategic group membership and nonprofit organization performance

This study analyzed the resource characteristics of a sample of university foundations and identified five distinct strategic groups. We found significant performance differences among them. Specifically, the group that focused most heavily on fundraising activities had the highest financial performance. Also performing well was the group with the highest ratio of contributions to total revenues combined with the highest level of slack. The research and managerial implications of this study's findings are discussed.