Frequency,complexity, and clarity as covariates of observer reliability

Factors affecting interobserver agreement (reliability) with a comprehensive coding system in the naturalistic observation of children were examined. Data from 117 pairs of observations on 35 children and their families were examined with respect to reliability and three possible covariates: response frequency, observation complexity, and code definition clarity. Analysis of results strongly supported response frequency as a positive covariate of interobserver agreement. Complexity was found to negatively covary with interobserver agreement. The relationship between code clarity and reliability was in the predicted direction but failed to obtain statistical significance. Implications for observer training and data collection in observational studies are discussed.An earlier version of this article was prepared for presentation at The Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Atlanta, Georgia, December 1977.     

The influence of syntactic segmentation on perceived stress

Chomsky and Halle (1968) claim that the stress and intonation of an utterance are not determined solely by physical properties of the acoustic signal but are also influenced by the syntactic organization of the utterance. Strong support for their contention has been obtained by presenting listeners with a continuously repeated string of monosyllabic words. Such sequences undergo spontaneous perceptual re-grouping sometimes producing strings with different syntactic organizations; such syntactic changes are accompanied by immediate and dramatic changes in apparent stress and intonation although the physical signal itself never varies.     

Extinction of a phobia of physical examination in a seven-year-old mentally retarded boy—A case study

Counterconditioning is a process in which aversive stimuli that ordinarily evoke emotional or avoidance responses are paired with positive stimuli which evoke incompatible activities. Several sets of operations have been employed to induce these incompatible activities (e.g. food, Jones, 1924; relaxation. Grossberg, 1964; positive imagery, Lazarus and Abramowitz, 1962; pharmacological agents, Friedman, 1966; laughter, Ventis, 1973).Although the Counterconditioning process has been successfully applied to a wide variety of emotional disorders, special problems arise when the procedure is applied to the mentally retarded. First, because of the limitations in cognitive abilities, it is generally impossible to train the subject in either relaxation or positive imagery processes. Consequently, it is necessary to place the child in direct contact with the anxiety-inducing situation. Secondly, it is often difficult to find an anxiety-free situation which is incompatible with the anxiety-arousing situation and which can be practically implemented, particularly when the phobia involved is complex.The purpose of this paper is to describe a case whereby a phobic response of physical examination by male doctors in a 7–yr-old mentally retarded boy was extinguished by pairing the examination with an anxiety-free situation, i.e. an extremely comfortable relationship between the patient and a nurse on the ward. Previous research had indicated that parents and people who have positive relationships with a person might possibly serve as effective anxiety reducers in fear-provoking situations (Jersild and Holmes, 1935).     

The Priority of the Now

This article motivates and develops a new theory of time: priority presentism. Priority presentism is the view according to which (i) only present entities exist fundamentally and (ii) past and future entities exist, but they are grounded in the present. The articulation of priority presentism is an exercise in applied grounding: it draws on concepts from the recent literature on ontological dependence and applies those concepts in a new way, to the philosophy of time. The result, as I will argue, is an attractive position that can do much of the same work in satisfying our intuitions about time as presentism, but without the ontological cost.     

Integrated Treatment Programmes for Mothers with Substance Use Problems: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Interventions to Prevent Out-of-home Child Placements

Approximately half of mothers receiving substance use treatment are involved with childcare proceedings. This review aims to determine whether integrated treatment programmes for mothers with substance use problems are effective in preventing out-of-home placement (temporally/permanent) and influencing other maternal factors such as patterns of substance use, treatment completion and parenting behaviours. Six trials were identified—two randomised controlled trials and four non-randomised controlled studies. The pooled sample of participants was 1717. The results showed that mothers who participated in integrated treatment programmes were significantly less likely to have the children removed from their care (Odds Ratio (OR)?=?0.40, 95% CI?=?0.27, 0.61), more likely to complete substance use treatment (OR?=?3.01, 95% CI?=?1.79, 5.06), and more likely to reduce their alcohol consumption (Standardised Mean Difference (SMD)?=??0.40, 95% Cl?=??0.78, ?0.01) and drug use (SMD?=??0.30, 95% CI?=??0.53, ?0.07). However, non-significant reductions were observed for parent–child conflict (SMD?=??0.35, 95% CI?=??0.72, 0.03) and child abuse risk (SMD?=??0.03, 95% CI?=??0.36, 0.31). While the findings from this review suggest that mothers involved in integrated treatment programmes could potentially be less likely to experience out-of-home child placements and more likely to improve substance use treatment outcomes, little evidence exists for the effectiveness of these interventions. Further research, particularly high-quality RCTs, is required to demonstrate and persuade health and public policy on the far-reaching value of the integrated approaches.

     

How Academic Community and an Ethic of Care Can Shape Adjunct Work Environments: A Case Study of a Community College

This article presents a qualitative case study that explores how faculty and administrators at one community college conceptualized and experienced academic community within their institution and how that conceptualization helped shape the part-time faculty work environment. Using a combined framework of academic community and care ethics, this study utilizes data from 55 interviews with full-time and part-time faculty and administrative leaders from a large community college. Findings from this study indicate that defining membership, a sense of belonging, and shared mission and goals are key components to their understanding of academic community. From these three components, the study found that when participants included adjunct faculty as members of their academic community, they also reported a sense of responsibility or obligation to supporting them.