A mixed-methods investigation of successful aging among older women engaged in sports-based versus exercise-based leisure time physical activities

This mixed-methods study compares active older women in different physically based leisure activities and explores the difference in subjective ratings of successful aging and quantifiable predictors of success. A survey was administered to 256 women, 60–92 years of age, engaged in a sports- or exercise-based activity. Quantitative data were analyzed through ANOVA and multiple regression. Qualitative data (n = 79) was analyzed using the approach associated with means-end theory. While participants quantitatively appeared similar in terms of successful aging, qualitative interviews revealed differences in activity motivation. Women involved in sports highlighted social/psychological benefits, while those involved in exercise-based activities stressed fitness outcomes.     

Top United Nations Peacebuilders and Advocacy for Women, Peace, and Security

A strong correlation between the sex of United Nations (UN)peace operation managers and their advocacy for the role ofwomen in peacebuilding was found in an internet study carriedout in May 2008. Senior female UN managers involved in peaceprocesses are ten times more likely than male colleagues publiclyto address women's roles as peacebuilders, yet of the sixty-sixSpecial Representatives of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG),Deputy Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General (DSRSG),and Special Envoys addressing peacebuilding who were listedon the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) web sitein May 2008, only six were women. In view of the large numbersof women who become refugees or are internally displaced dueto armed conflict, it is paramount that peace processes includethem at all levels and in all aspects on an equal footing withmen. Appointing more women to senior level positions in theUN is one way to achieve this aim.     

基于奇异值分解去势的非线性趋势序列单位根检验研究

 如何克服ADF与PP单位根检验法对非线性趋势平稳序列的伪检验,提高单位根检验的功效,是非平稳时间序列分析的重要问题。本文基于奇异值分解的思路,构造出检验非平稳时间序列单位根的SVD-RMA检验法,此方法将时间序列的趋势项与干扰项分离,然后用递归均值调整法对干扰项进行检验。仿真实验表明,SVD-RMA法对线性与非线性趋势、甚至结构突变过程的检验功效都非常好;对非线性趋势平稳的检验而言,SVD-RMA检验得到正确结论的可能性要远远好于ADF与PP检验。     

Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing of Vocalizations: A Systematic Replication

The current study replicated an enhanced stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) procedure used by Esch et al. (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 42: 42–225, 2009) for increasing vocalizations in children with autism. The enhanced SSP procedure consisted of pairing target vocalizations with high-preference items, interspersed target and nontarget trials, an observing response, and the presentation of the vocalizations in “motherese” speech. Results showed substantial increases in target vocalizations above baseline levels and above nontarget vocalizations for two of three participants.     

What's in a Name? Causes and Consequences of Labelling Minorities as “National” or “Migrant”: Roma in Italy and Spain

This article analyses how Roma are represented in official policy narratives in Italy and Spain by comparing the four cycles of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the two countries. By tracing the representations that the Italian and Spanish governments hold (and make) about the Roma, I sketch out the different categories that EU‐ropean countries recur to as organizing principles to “other” underprivileged minorities. Based on the tailored‐approaches in which both Italy and Spain engage in framing Roma as either a “national” minority or not, I suggest that constructing or “producing” a minority in our imagined communities as characterized by national, cultural, social or migrant characteristics relies more on political expediency than on objective analytical categories.     

Men's psychological functioning in the context of women's breast cancer

Previous research indicates that men are affected when their female partners have breast cancer. However, little is known about what predicts men's psychological well-being in this context. The current investigation involved couples in which the woman had early stage breast cancer and explored the degree to which men's positive and negative well-being was related to women's well-being, women's physical symptoms, relationship functioning, and relationship duration. The findings indicate that all of these factors play a role and interact in predicting men's well-being. In particular, when women have a high level of physical symptoms, the typical associations between men's well-being with women's well-being and relationship adjustment no longer persist. Implications for working with couples addressing health problems are provided.     

Serving families with child maltreatment and substance use disorders: A decade of learning

ABSTRACT

An increase in parental substance use disorders (SUD) and the number of infants and toddlers entering foster care has prompted federal and state efforts to change the treatment paradigm toward more integrated and family-centered strategies. The Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) program demonstrated that family-centered strategies can improve child and parent outcomes. The current challenge is to bring effective strategies to scale. This conceptual article highlights the lessons learned from 10 years of implementing and evaluating programs to meet the needs of families affected by parental SUD and child maltreatment. Effective family-centered strategies identified by the RPG program are illustrated with specifics from the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team program. These effective strategies could be implemented in any jurisdiction and include (1) collaboration toward integrated services between child welfare and SUD treatment, (2) timely access to SUDS treatment, (3) recovery management and support, (4) tailored family services, and (5) adaptation to local jurisdiction needs. When these strategies are operational, children are more likely to be safe and remain in parent custody, and parents are more likely to achieve sobriety and improve their parental capacity. Future research might examine the unique impact of each of the five strategies independently.     

Differences Between African Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites Utilization of Clergy for Counseling with Serious Personal Problems

There is a paradox in research on African Americans and non-Hispanic whites in the utilization of clergy. Research finds that African Americans have higher levels of religious service attendance and higher levels of contact with clergy. Research also finds that despite this, African Americans are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to seek out assistance from clergy for psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety. The goal of this paper was to investigate race differences in the use of clergy for counseling for serious personal problems. It uses the National Survey of American Life. We find that non-Hispanic whites were more likely than African Americans to use clergy for a serious personal problem. The significant difference between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites appeared to be mediated by the fact that African Americans were more likely to have seen clergy in a religious setting and non-Hispanic whites were more likely to have seen clergy in other settings including hospitals.     

Random Acts of Delinquency: Trauma and Self-Destructiveness in Juvenile Offenders

This article provides an explanatory model of the way in which trauma leads to serious delinquency. Using perspectives from information processing, social learning, and self-regulation theories, we present evidence to suggest that adolescents whose lives were shaped by trauma perceive and encode social cues differently than non-traumatized individuals. A number of assessment tools and therapeutic interventions are recommended, followed by suggestions for advocating on the behalf of adolescents incarcerated in the juvenile justice system.