The Role of the Female Mental Health Professional in a Male Correctional Setting

There are increasing numbers of women psychologists and other professionals working within predominately male correctional settings. One finds, however, nothing in the literature on how they are viewed by the system or what it is like to be a woman working within this traditionally male dominated sphere. The dearth of written material on the subject became apparent in a search through the National Clearinghouse of Mental Health and the Criminal Justice Reference Service. The Psychological Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index and the Criminology Index also have no references that shed any light on this issue. There is one particularly good article by a woman psychologist (4illiams, 1974) who was working within a correctional setting. The article deals with defining the role of a correctional psychologist, but no attempt is made by the author to explore how her gender did or did not affect her functioning

Survey-Based Cross-Country Comparisons Where Countries Vary in Sample Design: Issues and Solutions

In multi-national surveys, different countries usually implement different sample designs. The sample designs affect the variance of estimates of differences between countries. When making such estimates, analysts often fail to take sufficient account of sample design. This failure occurs sometimes because variables indicating stratification, clustering, or weighting are unavailable, partially available, or in a form that is unsuitable for cross-national analysis. In this article, we demonstrate how complex sample design should be taken into account when estimating differences between countries, and we provide practical guidance to analysts and to data producers on how to deal with partial or inappropriately-coded sample design indicator variables. Using EU-SILC as a case study, we evaluate the inverse misspecification effect (imeff ) that results from ignoring clustering or stratification, or both in a between-country comparison where countries’ sample designs differ. We present imeff for estimates of between-country differences in a number of demographic and economic variables for 19 European Union Member States. We assess the magnitude of imeff and the associated impact on standard error estimates. Our empirical findings illustrate that it is important for data producers to supply appropriate sample design indicators and for analysts to use them

AAPOR Report on Big Data

In recent years we have seen an increase in the amount of statistics in society describing different phenomena based on so called Big Data. The term Big Data is used for a variety of data as explained in the report, many of them characterized not just by their large volume, but also by their variety and velocity, the organic way in which they are created, and the new types of processes needed to analyze them and make inference from them. The change in the nature of the new types of data, their availability, the way in which they are collected, and disseminated are fundamental. The change constitutes a paradigm shift for survey research.There is a great potential in Big Data but there are some fundamental challenges that have to be resolved before its full potential can be realized. In this report we give examples of different types of Big Data and their potential for survey research. We also describe the Big Data process and discuss its main challenges

Estimating nonresponse bias and mode effects in a mixed mode survey

In mixed-mode surveys, it is difficult to separate sample selection differences from mode-effects that can occur when respondents respond in different interview settings. This paper provides a framework for separating mode-effects from selection effects by matching very similar respondents from different survey modes using propensity score matching. The answer patterns of the matched respondents are subsequently compared. We show that matching can explain differences in nonresponse and coverage in two Internet-samples. When we repeat this procedure for a telephone and Internet-sample however, differences persist between the samples after matching. This indicates the occurrence of mode-effects in telephone and Internet surveys. Mode-effects can be problematic; hence we conclude with a discussion of designs that can be used to explicitly study mode-effects

The Effects of Counterfactual Thinking on Attitudes and Intentions Toward ADHD Medication Use

ADHD medication, known by many students as the “study drug,” has recently increased in popularity. Students and athletes take these medications to increase alertness and concentration, but these individuals may not realize the consequences of taking ADHD medication. More research is needed to determine effective ways to dissuade students from using ADHD medication inappropriately. One possible means of influencing attitudes toward ADHD medication use may be counterfactual thinking. Counterfactual thoughts are mental representations of alternatives to past occurrences (Roese, 1997; Smallman & Roese, 2009). The current study investigates how generating counterfactuals influences behavioral intentions and attitudes towards ADHD medications. In this study, participants first read a scenario in which they imagined themselves taking a non-prescribed ADHD medication as a study aid, which elicited either a positive or a negative outcome. Afterward, some participants were asked to imagine how the event might have turned out differently and to list counterfactual thoughts. Finally, all participants completed self-report measures of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions related to ADHD medication use. The results indicate that, regardless of whether the scenario included a positive or negative outcome, generating counterfactual statements led to more positive attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions towards future ADHD medication use. In addition, in the negative scenario, positive attitudes were correlated with the use of third person pronouns in their counterfactual statements while in the positive scenario, positive attitudes were correlated with the use of first person pronouns in their counterfactual statements. These results suggest that generating counterfactual thoughts related to ADHD medication use leads to more positive opinions about it, but perceived closeness may also be an important factor to consider

Amnion cells engineering: A new perspective in fetal membrane healing after intrauterine surgery?

In this study we aimed to set up an in vitro culture of the rabbit amnion in order to support in vivo fetal membrane healing capacity following fetoscopy. Fetal membranes were collected from a mid- gestational rabbit, and cultured on collagen support material for 14 days. 34 rabbits at 22 - 23 days gestational age ( GA) underwent fetoscopy. The entry site was randomly allocated to 4 closure technique study groups: group I, human amnion membrane ( n = 23); group II, collagen foil ( n = 16); group III, collagen plug ( n = 19), and group IV, collagen plug with cultured amnion cells ( n = 19). In all groups membrane access sites were additionally sealed with fibrin sealant, and the myometrium was closed with sutures. Fetal survival, amnion membrane integrity, and the presence of amniotic fluid were evaluated at 30 days GA. Cultures showed good survival in the collagen support material. Increased cellularity, survival and proliferations were observed. The amnion at the access site resealed in 58 - 64% of cases in groups II - IV, but none of the tested techniques was significantly better than the other. Histological examination indirectly revealed the anatomic repair of the membranes, since no entrapment of the membranes could be demonstrated in the myometrial wound. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Estimating Sensitive Behavior: The ICT and High-Incidence Electoral Behavior

Funding This work is supported by the Austrian National Election Study, a National Research Network sponsored by the Austrian Science Fund (S10902-G11). Acknowledgments The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and Graeme Blair and Kosuke Imai for their helpful support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD