Language Policy in Practice: Re‐bordering the Nation

We present findings from an anthropological field study on the role of language and language policy in migration from Poland to Norway, and the larger implications for emerging language and immigration policy in Europe. Initial fieldwork in Norway found that Polish workers without knowledge of the Norwegian language struggled to secure employment in the formal economy. The 2008 financial crisis intensified competition in the labour market and underscored fluency in Norwegian as a means of discriminating among workers. Comparative case studies of language schools revealed that these organizations are active participants in channeling Polish migrants' movements into a segmented labour market, often in ways that involve cooperation between private companies and the State. We frame the Norwegian case within the larger context of Europe and the trend there toward favoring integration over multiculturalism. The emergence of restrictive language policies in Europe may be interpreted as a legally and culturally acceptable means for discouraging access to rights associated with permanent residency or citizenship by work migrants from CEE countries, while at the same time permitting them access to the labour market for temporary work. The long‐term consequences of such policies for European society are uncertain.     

Sample size planning for phase II trials based on success probabilities for phase III

In recent years, high failure rates in phase III trials were observed. One of the main reasons is overoptimistic assumptions for the planning of phase III resulting from limited phase II information and/or unawareness of realistic success probabilities. We present an approach for planning a phase II trial in a time‐to‐event setting that considers the whole phase II/III clinical development programme. We derive stopping boundaries after phase II that minimise the number of events under side conditions for the conditional probabilities of correct go/no‐go decision after phase II as well as the conditional success probabilities for phase III. In addition, we give general recommendations for the choice of phase II sample size. Our simulations show that unconditional probabilities of go/no‐go decision as well as the unconditional success probabilities for phase III are influenced by the number of events observed in phase II. However, choosing more than 150 events in phase II seems not necessary as the impact on these probabilities then becomes quite small. We recommend considering aspects like the number of compounds in phase II and the resources available when determining the sample size. The lower the number of compounds and the lower the resources are for phase III, the higher the investment for phase II should be. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photographic portraits of migrants in South Africa: framed between identity photographs and (self-)presentation

This essay explores how migration within the African continent is framed visually by passport photos as well as artistic documentary projects based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It offers examples of what type of photographic (self-)portraits are constructed, which photographs circulate and how African migrants’ self-images as well as South African society’s perception of them are affected by certain photographic images. The method employed is a close reading of some paradigmatic photographs. In addition, I will discuss different – and often gendered – ways in which African migrant subjects may become visible. In short, this essay asks, what photographic portraits construct the hegemonic view of the African migrant subject in the public sphere? Accordingly, the tension between visibility and invisibility of African migrants’ lives emerges in the interstices of the inquiry. The paper first looks at the taking of identity photographs, since the passport photo exemplifies how the individual is made visible by the nation state. It can simultaneously serve as a poignant reminder of the ambivalent qualities of photography: on the one hand, documenting and codifying, and on the other hand, creatively representing. In this context, the essay explores the possibility of remaining invisible or “opaque,” but also the conceivably more empowering representational aspect of photography such as we see in participatory (art) projects, which may be connected to the visual politics of self-expression and reflection.     

Organizing for Tenants' Rights: Insights and Approaches From Both Sides of the Fence

The initial discussion includes musings about learning community organization as a graduate student in social work during the late 1970s and subsequently practicing as a tenant organizer in the inner cities of New York City. Three major areas are addressed: (1) the tensions between educational models of practice and community organizing; (2) the critical role of the organizer in constructing the problem and shifting perceptions of power and; (3) how confrontations with legitimate channels of power can foster the development of oppositional consciousness and thus promote social justice efforts. This article argues for greater educational emphasis on the claimsmaking role of community organizers because problem construction is inextricably tied to definitions of power and thus to its redistribution to exploited classes.     

Performance Assessment in Support of the 1996 Compliance Certification Application for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

The conceptual and computational structure of a performance assessment (PA) for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is described. Important parts of this structure are (1) maintenance of a separation between stochastic (i.e., aleatory) and subjective (i.e., epistemic) uncertainty, with stochastic uncertainty arising from the many possible disruptions that could occur over the 10,000-year regulatory period that applies to the WIPP, and subjective uncertainty arising from the imprecision with which many of the quantities required in the analysis are known, (2) use of Latin hypercube sampling to incorporate the effects of subjective uncertainty, (3) use of Monte Carlo (i.e., random) sampling to incorporate the effects of stochastic uncertainty, and (4) efficient use of the necessarily limited number of mechanistic calculations that can be performed to support the analysis. The WIPP is under development by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the geologic (i.e., deep underground) disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste, with the indicated PA supporting a Compliance Certification Application (CCA) by the DOE to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 1996 for the necessary certifications for the WIPP to begin operation. The EPA certified the WIPP for the disposal of TRU waste in May 1998, with the result that the WIPP will be the first operational facility in the United States for the geologic disposal of radioactive waste.     

Transferring Control of the Mand to the Motivating Operation in Children with Autism

Few studies have made use of B. F. Skinner''s (1957) behavioral analysis of language and precise taxonomy of verbal behavior when describing the controlling variables for the mand relation. Consequently, the motivating operation (MO) has not typically been identified as an independent variable and the nature of a spontaneous mand has been imprecisely described. The purpose of this study was to develop procedures to bring the mand response under the control of the relevant MO and therefore free it from the multiple controls that are more easily identified by practitioner''s who rely on Skinner''s analysis and taxonomy. Using a rolling time delay and prompt fade procedure both participants'' mand repertoires were successfully transferred to the relevant MO and a listener and described within the context of a behavioral analysis of language.     

Family-based interventions for child and adolescent disorders

Emotional and behavioral symptoms and disorders are prevalent in children and adolescents. There has been a burgeoning literature supporting evidence-based treatments for these disorders. Increasingly, family-based interventions have been gaining prominence and demonstrating effectiveness for myriad childhood and adolescent disorders. This article presents the current evidence in support of family-based interventions for mood, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity, disruptive behavior, pervasive developmental particularly autism spectrum, and eating disorders. This review details recent data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and promising interventions not yet examined using a randomized controlled methodology. It highlights the evidence base supporting various specific family-based interventions, some of which are disorder dependent. A practitioner perspective is then offered with regard to recommendations for future practice and training. The article closes with a summary and directions for future research.     

Resistance and anxiety as factors in the discontinuance of child guidance treatment 1

In this article, the authors provide background on evidence-based practice and then summarize the evidence base for short-term and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapies. The research included conforms to the hierarchy of evidence promoted by the evidence-based practice movement. Experimental research on psychodynamic psychotherapy reveals these therapies have generally moderate to large effect sizes for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, somatic disorders, some substance abuse disorders, and some mixed disorders. There is a clear evidence base supporting psychodynamic psychotherapy as effective in treating several mental health disorders. Additional outcome research on psychodynamic psychotherapies, using varied outcome measures, should be funded and completed.