The Impact of Relationship Education on the Couple Relationship: A Grounded Theory of Intentionality and Awareness

Research on relationship education (RE) programs generally shows their effectiveness, but it is important to understand what the mechanisms of change are, how they occur within programs, and what participants experience. The purpose of this study was to explore couples' perceptions of the key components of their experience as participants of a Prep-based RE program. Research questions included: How do couples describe their experience of taking an 8-hour relationship education class? What elements had the biggest impact on their relationship? How has their relationship changed as a result of participation? Interview data from 39 married and cohabitating couples who participated in RE were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Six categories emerged from the analytic process, resulting in a model that provided explanatory detail of a typical RE program experience and its impact on the participants. These categories were: intentionality and awareness, context, relationship, workshop, impact (of RE), and couple interview. Couples described these categories as developing in a relatively chronological order, with Intentionality and Awareness being a central category that cut across the process and helped explain the impact of the program on the couple relationship. Implications for research, program development, and program facilitators providing RE are discussed.     

Educating Adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Caregiver Support Needs

The purpose of this study was to identify caregivers’ needs in helping youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) succeed in school. Sixteen caregivers raising a youth with FASD participated in telephone interviews that included the question: “What do caregivers need to help youth be successful in school?”. Participants then sorted responses to these questions into piles they believed to be a conceptual fit with one another, and the data was analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Five concepts emerged: (1) Working to meet the needs of the individual, (2) educational accommodations, (3) FASD-literate schools, (4) resources, and (5) therapeutic supports. These concepts were compared and contrasted with the existing literature.     

An Assessment of Sustainability Integration and Communication in Canadian MBA Programs

This paper explores how sustainability has been integrated into and communicated in Canadian Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) programs. We content analyzed university, business school, and MBA program mission and values statements; communicated strategic priorities; and relevant academic calendar content, as well as sustainability rankings and select media depictions of sustainable MBA programs and practices. We explore the potential for greenwashing practices in relation to the integration of sustainability in business education. We found some evidence of a decoupling between university and/or business school mission and claims, and MBA policies and practices. We conclude with a discussion of our findings, study limitations and some relevant implications for academia.     

An assessment of differential reinforcement procedures for learners with autism spectrum disorder

Differential reinforcement procedures may promote unprompted correct responding, resulting in a quicker transfer of stimulus control than nondifferential reinforcement. Recent studies that have compared reinforcement arrangements have found that the most effective arrangement may differ across participants. The current study conducted an assessment of differential reinforcement arrangements (i.e., quality, schedule, and magnitude) and nondifferential reinforcement to identify the most effective arrangement for each participant. The assessment phase showed that the quality arrangement was the most efficient for all participants during auditory‐visual matching. Next, a validation phase was conducted to evaluate whether the assessment would predict the most effective arrangement across multiple skills. The results from the assessment phase were validated for all participants for the same skill. However, the results were only validated for one participant during the other skills (i.e., tact and intraverbal). The results are discussed in light of previous research and future areas of research.