Application of Multi‐Criteria Analysis on Climate Adaptation Assessment in the Context of Least Developed Countries

The developing countries are suffering the most because of climatic variability and they have an enormous backlog in basic infrastructure to protect their cities. In addition, the resources and technical expertise are limited. Therefore, the adaptation measures to protect their cities are needed to be planned and prioritized carefully to reduce the vulnerability simultaneously considering the risk reduction, local constraints and development goals. A framework for prioritization of adaptation measures is lacking in the decision making in this context which could immensely assist in informed and structured decisions during the planning process of adaptation strategies in developing countries. This paper is exploring the potential of Multi‐Criteria Analysis as a methodology for climate adaptation assessment in order to prioritize the adaptation measures to be undertaken. Hence in this paper Adaptation assessment is conducted within the framework of Multi‐Criteria Analysis methodology which allows both normative judgement and technical expertise in the assessment process. Such a participatory integrated assessment of adaptation options is a new approach in flood management in least developed countries. The assessment framework has been applied and tested at the Eastern fringe of Dhaka city which is highly vulnerable to flooding. Based on the assessment and analysis, adaptive measures are prioritized to enable more effective action. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing mixed methods research in sport and exercise psychology: Critical reflections on five points of controversy

ObjectivesTo stimulate debate in sport and exercise psychology about the nature of mixed methods research as currently practiced and how this approach might develop in the future.DesignAn exploration of five points of controversy relating to mixed methods research.MethodA presentation of critical reflections on the following. (1) Mixing methods as a non-debate, (2) Purists, pragmatists and mixing paradigms, (3) Integrating findings and representational forms, (4) Judgment criteria and mixed methods research, and (5) Power, politics and what counts in mixed methods research.ResultsThe examples provided of mixed methods research in action indicate that a number of problematic issues regarding both process and product have been neglected.ConclusionsMixed methods research offers a number of conceptual, practical and pedagogical challenges that need to be addressed if this form of inquiry is to develop its full potential in sport and exercise psychology.     

A Video Recall Study of In‐session Changes in Sentiment Override

This study examines in‐session changes in sentiment override over the first three sessions of couple therapy. Couples viewed a video recording of therapy sessions immediately after each of the first three sessions and continuously rated their level of sentiment override. Ninety‐eight changes were randomly chosen for analysis. Three talk turns prior to each change was coded using the Family Relational Communication Control Coding System. Results show that changes in sentiment override occur frequently. Repeated incidents of communication control were related to negative change in sentiment override for females. Repeated incidents of being left out of the conversation were related to negative changes in sentiment override for females and positive changes for males.     

Intervention development and cultural adaptation research with diverse families

This article provides an introduction to the special issue on intervention development and cultural adaptation research with diverse families. The need for research on intervention development and on cultural adaptation of interventions is presented, followed by a discussion of frameworks on treatment development. Seven articles included in this special issue serve as examples of the stages of treatment and intervention development, and of the procedures employed in the cultural adaptation with diverse families. An overview of the seven articles is provided to illustrate the treatment development process and the use of pluralistic research methods. We conclude with a call to the field for creative and innovative intervention development research with diverse families to contribute to the body of evidence-based practice with these populations.     

The heart of the matter: a proposal for placing the self of the therapist at the center of family therapy research and training

As it faces the transition marked by the death or retirement of most of its first-generation founders, the field of family therapy finds itself still unable to answer the critical question of what it is that makes family therapy work. The two dominant approaches to answering this question, the common-factors perspective and the model-specific factors perspective, remain divided at this juncture by a fundamental difference of emphasis between the two. This article proposes a way of integrating the two perspectives via the hypothesis that therapists achieve maximum effectiveness by committing themselves to a family therapy model of proven efficacy whose underlying worldview closely matches their own personal worldview. The implications of this hypothesis for the training of family therapists are examined.     

Diversity and unity of modularity

Since the publication of Fodor's (1983) The Modularity of Mind, there have been quite a few discussions of cognitive modularity among cognitive scientists. Generally, in those discussions, modularity means a property of specialized cognitive processes or a domain-specific body of information. In actuality, scholars understand modularity in many different ways. Different characterizations of modularity and modules were proposed and discussed, but they created misunderstanding and confusion. In this article, I classified and analyzed different approaches to modularity and argued for the unity of modularity. Modularity is a multidimensional property consisting of features from several dimensions specifying different aspects of cognition. Among those, there are core features of modularity, and these core features form a cross-dimensional unity. Despite the diverse and liberal characterizations, modularity contributes to cognitive science because of the unity of the core features.     

Scholars’ preferred solutions for research misconduct: results from a survey of faculty members at America’s top 100 research universities

Research misconduct is harmful because it threatens public health and public safety, and also undermines public confidence in science. Efforts to eradicate ongoing and prevent future misconduct are numerous and varied, yet the question of “what works” remains largely unanswered. To shed light on this issue, this study used data from both mail and online surveys administered to a stratified random sample of tenured and tenure-track faculty members (N = 613) in the social, natural, and applied sciences at America’s top 100 research universities. Participants were asked to gauge the effectiveness of various intervention strategies: formal sanctions (professional and legal), informal sanctions (peers), prevention efforts (ethics and professional training), and reducing the pressures associated with working in research-intensive units. Results indicated that (1) formal sanctions received the highest level of support, (2) female scholars and researchers working in the applied sciences favored formal sanctions, and (3) a nontrivial portion of the sample supported an integrated approach that combined elements of different strategies. A key takeaway for university administrators is that a multifaceted approach to dealing with the problem of research misconduct, which prominently features enhanced formal sanctions, will be met with the support of university faculty.