“Money's too tight (to mention)”:A review and psychological synthesis of living wage research

Traditional living wage research has been the purview of economists, but recently contributions from the field of work psychology have challenged existing perspectives, providing a different lens through which to consider this issue. By means of a narrative interdisciplinary review of 115 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2020, we chart the transitions in the field with attention shifting from macro-economic and econometric lens largely concerned with the costs of living wage policies, to a more person-centric lens focusing on the employee and their family. Synthesizing prior study, we outline five key themes: consequences for individuals, organizations, and societies; changes in operationalization; exploration of different contexts; study of social movements; and the history of the topic. We outline the importance of work psychology in developing the living wage debate through more inclusive definitions, and novel operationalization and measurement, thereby providing fresh insights into how and why living wages can have a positive impact. Critically, we outline the redundancy of simple study of wage rates without understanding the elements that make work decent. We raise key areas for further study, and this topic presents a significant opportunity for psychology to shift focus to impact upstream policy by providing new empirical evidence, and challenges to structural inequalities

Comparing Skill Acquisition Under Varying Onsets of Differential Reinforcement: A Preliminary Analysis

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of implementing differential reinforcement at different times relative to the onset of teaching new skills to learners with autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, we first determined the most efficient differential reinforcement arrangement for each participant. Using the most efficient arrangement, we evaluated if differential reinforcement from the immediate onset, early onset, or late onset is the most efficient for learners to acquire a new skill. Three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who have a history of receiving intervention based on the principles of applied behavior analysis participated in this study. The immediate onset of differential reinforcement resulted in the most efficient instruction in 6 of 7 comparisons. The results are discussed in light of previous studies and suggestions for future research are provided

Health risk behaviours among adolescents in the English-speaking Caribbean: a review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this paper was to review and summarize research on prevalence of health risk behaviours, their outcomes as well as risk and protective factors among adolescents in the English-speaking Caribbean.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Searching of online databases and the World Wide Web as well as hand searching of the <it>West Indian Medical Journal </it>were conducted. Papers on research done on adolescents aged 10 – 19 years old and published during the period 1980 – 2005 were included.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ninety-five relevant papers were located. Five papers were published in the 1980s, 47 in the 1990s, and from 2000–2005, 43 papers. Health risk behaviours and outcomes were divided into seven themes. Prevalence data obtained for these, included lifetime prevalence of <b>substance use</b>: cigarettes-24% and marijuana-17%; <b>high risk sexual behaviour</b>: initiation of sexual activity ≤ 10 years old-19% and those having more than six partners-19%; <b>teenage pregnancy</b>: teens account for 15–20% of all pregnancies and one-fifth of these teens were in their second pregnancy; <b>Sexually-Transmitted Infections (STIs)</b>: population prevalence of gonorrhoea and/or chlamydia in 18–21 year-olds was 26%; <b>mental health</b>: severe depression in the adolescent age group was 9%, and attempted suicide-12%; <b>violence and juvenile delinquency</b>: carrying a weapon to school in the last 30 days-10% and almost always wanting to kill or injure someone-5%; <b>eating disorders and obesity</b>: overweight-11%, and obesity-7%. Many of the risk behaviours in adolescents were shown to be related to the adolescent's family of origin, home environment and parent-child relationships. Also, the protective effects of family and school connectedness as well as increased religiosity noted in studies from the United States were also applicable in the Caribbean.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is a substantial body of literature on Caribbean adolescents documenting prevalence and correlates of health risk behaviours. Future research should emphasize the designing and testing of interventions to alleviate this burden.</p

Photometric Observations And Numerical Modeling Of Sdss J162520.29+120308.7, An Su Uma In The Cv Period Gap

We present R-band photometric observations of Cataclysmic Variable dwarf nova SU UMa SDSS J162520.29+120308.7 during the July 2010 superoutburst, from near maximum through decline and into a single rebrightening. We find a maximum superoutburst amplitude of ∼ 6.1 magnitudes and a maximum rebrightening amplitude of ∼4 magnitudes. Near superoutburst maximum, we find 0.09604(3) days for the mean Stage B positive superhump period and a much longer period for the hump shaped modulation during the rebrightening. For the orbital period, we find Porb = 0.09113(30) days. As all periods both agree and disagree with values reported by others, additional observations are needed. Our 2015 observations of this system in quiescence reveal a 0.09080(20) day orbital period. As our 2010 value is within the error bars of a spectroscopically determined value and our 2015 photometrically determined value, we suggest 0.09113(30) days as the orbital period for this system. As for the secondary-to-primary mass ratio, analytical models using observed orbital and Stage B positive superhump periods as input suggest q = 0.221. As a check, we present a 3D SPH simulation of the rise to, and during the plateau stage of, the SU UMa in superoutburst, assuming Porb=0.09113 days. For Stages A and B, we find 0.09717 days and 0.09702 days, respectively, for the average simulated positive superhump periods. Analytical models using these simulated Stages A and B and the simulated orbital period suggest q = 0.1920(4) and q = 0.221, respectively, for this system. Due to the poorly constrained observational data and the similar mass ratio estimates regardless of stage, we can neither confirm nor deny that Stage A is better than Stage B for determining mass ratio in CV dwarf novae SU UMa systems. Additional observations and simulations are needed to further test this recently proposed hypothesis. For now, we suggest an average q = 0.21(1) for this system

Photometric observations and Numerical modeling of SDSS J162520.29+120308.7, an SU UMa in the CV period gap

We present R-band photometric observations of Cataclysmic Variable dwarf nova SU UMa SDSS J162520.29+120308.7 during the July 2010 superoutburst, from near maximum through decline and into a single rebrightening. We find a maximum superoutburst amplitude of ∼ 6.1 magnitudes and a maximum rebrightening amplitude of ∼4 magnitudes. Near superoutburst maximum, we find 0.09604(3) days for the mean Stage B positive superhump period and a much longer period for the hump shaped modulation during the rebrightening. For the orbital period, we find Porb = 0.09113(30) days. As all periods both agree and disagree with values reported by others, additional observations are needed. Our 2015 observations of this system in quiescence reveal a 0.09080(20) day orbital period. As our 2010 value is within the error bars of a spectroscopically determined value and our 2015 photometrically determined value, we suggest 0.09113(30) days as the orbital period for this system. As for the secondary-to-primary mass ratio, analytical models using observed orbital and Stage B positive superhump periods as input suggest q = 0.221. As a check, we present a 3D SPH simulation of the rise to, and during the plateau stage of, the SU UMa in superoutburst, assuming Porb=0.09113 days. For Stages A and B, we find 0.09717 days and 0.09702 days, respectively, for the average simulated positive superhump periods. Analytical models using these simulated Stages A and B and the simulated orbital period suggest q = 0.1920(4) and q = 0.221, respectively, for this system. Due to the poorly constrained observational data and the similar mass ratio estimates regardless of stage, we can neither confirm nor deny that Stage A is better than Stage B for determining mass ratio in CV dwarf novae SU UMa systems. Additional observations and simulations are needed to further test this recently proposed hypothesis. For now, we suggest an average q = 0.21(1) for this system