Selectivity and immigration in Canada

One perennial policy question in Canada concerns the kind of immigrants Canada should admit. Should it be those with the best prospects of fast economic assimilation in the labour market?. This research note sketches the earnings outcomes of immigrants associated with different admission categories. Specifically, we examine two databases. The Immigration Data Base (IMDB) provides information on admission categories by linking immigration, administrative records with income tax files. The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) is a longitudinal sample that provides a comprehensive profile of immigrants and native-born Canadians. The IMDB and SLID datasets provide valuable information on the economic outcomes of immigrants in quite different ways.     

Lewis S. Ford,Transforming Process Theism,Foreword by Robert Cummings Neville

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Suicide Ideation and Creative Problem Solving

This investigation utilized the recent technology for the assessment of creativity to examine the association between problem solving and suicide ideation. Three kinds of problem-finding and -solving tasks were administered to 81 (nonclinical) college students. One of these tasks assesses “problem generation” and was expected to be particularly informative, given that individuals considering suicide may perceive many problems but find few solutions. Results supported this expectation: Problem generation scores were significantly correlated with suicide ideation, even after stress was statistically controlled. A secondary analysis suggested that the originality and flexibility of solutions may be influenced by the particular problem an individual faces.     

Book review

GALLISTEL, C. R. The Organization of Action. Hillsdale, N. J.: Erlbaum Associates. 1980. Pp. 432. ISBN 0 470 26912 X.     

Qualitative approaches to research in counselling and psychotherapy: Issues and challenges

There has been a significant growth in interest in qualitative approaches to research in counselling and psychotherapy. Qualitative researchers in this field have begun to apply methods originally developed in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. There are, however, a number of distinctive dilemmas and challenges associated with qualitative approaches to inquiry into the processes and outcomes of counselling. A set of key issues are discussed: relationships with research participants, ethics, reflexivity, methodological choice, communicability, perspective and obviousness. Some suggestions are made regarding the link between qualitative research and counselling practice.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING WITH AND WITHOUT EXTINCTION AND PUNISHMENT: A SUMMARY OF 21 INPATIENT CASES

Functional communication training (FCT) is a frequently used treatment for reducing problem behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities. Once the operant function of problem behavior is identified by a functional analysis, the client is taught to emit an appropriate communicative response to obtain the reinforcer that is responsible for behavioral maintenance. Studies on FCT have typically used small numbers of participants, have reported primarily on clients for whom FCT was successful, and have varied with respect to their use of other treatment components. The main purposes of the present study were to evaluate the efficacy of FCT for treating severe problem behavior in a relatively large sample of individuals with mental retardation (N = 21) and to determine the contribution of extinction and punishment components to FCT treatment packages. FCT with extinction was effective in reducing problem behavior for the majority of clients and resulted in at least a 90% reduction in problem behavior in nearly half the applications. However, when demand or delay-to-reinforcement fading was added to FCT with extinction, treatment efficacy was reduced in about one half of the applications. FCT with punishment (both with and without fading) resulted in at least a 90% reduction in problem behavior for every case in which it was applied.     

A validation of the five-factor model of personality in academically talented youth across observers and instruments

Four instruments—the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), the Adjective Check List (ACL), the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the California Child Q-Set (CCQ)—and two data sources—self reports and parental ratings—were used to assess personality dimensions according to the five-factor model of personality in 870 academically talented youth (mean age = 13.77) from the U.S.A. Data from the parents of 565 of these children were also analysed. The factor structure of the self and parent reports, the convergence between the two sources of reports and the correlations of the adjectives in the ACL with the scores on the NEO-FFI were all consistent with previous results obtained from adults. The findings largely support the notion that the five-factor model as derived from data from adults is applicable to academically talented youth.