The effects of strength-based versus deficit-based self-regulated learning strategies on students' effort intentions

In two randomized experiments, one conducted online (n = 174) and one in the classroom (n = 267), we tested the effects of two types of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies on students’ intentions to put effort into professional development activities: strength-based SRL strategies (i.e., identifying perceived relative strengths and, subsequently, selecting professional development activities to further improve those strengths) versus deficit-based SRL strategies (i.e., identifying perceived relative short- comings and, subsequently, selecting professional develop- ment activities to improve those shortcomings). Across both studies, analysis of variance revealed that, relative to students who used deficit-based SRL strategies, students who used strength-based SRL strategies were higher in perceived competence, intrinsic motivation, and effort in- tentions. Moreover, the results of multi-mediator analysis and structural equation modeling supported the hypothesis that the effect of strength-based versus deficit-based SRL strategies on students’ effort intentions was sequentially mediated by perceived competence and intrinsic motiva- tion. Implications for the application of self-regulated learning strategies in the context of professional self-de- velopment are discussed

Brazil and the Responsibility While Protecting Initiative: Norms and the Timing of Diplomatic Support

This article examines Brazil’s responsibility while protecting (RwP) initiative as an example of norm sponsorship available to nonpermanent members of the Security Council. After setting the stage with Brazil’s historical engagement with intervention issues, it discusses the reasons behind the Brazilian initiative. It examines RwP’s key proposals and the reactions they generated. RwP’s normative implications are discussed, together with an examination of the main reasons why Brazil’s sponsorship of the initiative waned following its exit from the Council. Brazil’s withdrawal from sponsoring RwP highlights the need for ongoing support for initiatives that seek to revive the international community’s intervention practices by tackling the basic tenets of discord over R2P’s implementation

Creating an aggregate outcome index: cost-effectiveness analysis of substance abuse treatment.

This article proposes a method of calculating a practical index of improvement for conducting a cost-effectiveness analysis of substance abuse treatment. While the methodology of cost-effectiveness analysis necessitates the use of a single outcome measure, substance abuse treatment can produce multiple, important outcomes that must be considered in policy decisions about funding and alternative treatments. Thus, there is a need to aggregate the variety of outcomes from substance abuse treatment into a single index. The proposed index is a preference-weighted sum of outcomes using data from the Addiction Severity Index. The methodology and use of the index for conducting a cost-effectiveness analysis are illustrated using Addiction Severity Index data from a controlled quasi-experimental field study of case management

The Effect of Contraceptive Knowledge on Fertility: The Roles of Mass Media and Social Networks

Contraceptive knowledge, Family planning, Fertility,