A Grounded Theory Study of Major Gift Fundraising Relationships in U.S. Higher Education

Nurturing relationships with major donors is a priority for nonprofits, and “relationship fundraising” is the dominant paradigm. This grounded theory study addressed practical needs and a dearth of research by analyzing how fundraisers develop relationships. In a first-of-its-kind study, we interviewed 20 pairs of higher education fundraisers and major donors (n = 40) from multiple U.S. institutions. We discovered five tiers of relationships from a basic connection, personalized association, confident relationship, purposeful partnership, to a consequential bond. Fundraisers initiated the progression until the final tier; the theoretical model shows their intentionality in the relationships’ development. Major gifts occurred in all tiers. The model illustrates how fundraisers build relationships, explores donors’ expectations, and affirms the relational nature of major gift fundraising. It provides some of the only empirical evidence regarding major donors, and the relationship fundraising philosophy touted in practitioner literature. The analysis reveals connections to theories from social psychology and relationship marketing

Education in Cross-Cultural Settings: Psychological Underpinnings of Achievement in Papua New Guinea

Education and achievement in Papua New Guinea has received minimal attention in the psychological and educational literature. Although student motivation and achievement have been investigated in a large variety of cultures throughout the world, this has not been substantially extended to the developing world. The current study investigated a selection of psychological processes that contribute to student achievement in the context of a majority, indigenous and developing culture. Motivational goal orientations, learning and self-regulatory processes of 359 students from Papua New Guinea (PNG) were investigated. Structural equation modeling investigated the relations between the psychological variables. Results are discussed in the context of McInerney’s (2007) model of student achievement in cross-cultural settings

Star Clusters in M 31. IV. A Comparative Analysis of Absorption Line Indices in Old M 31 and Milky Way Clusters

We present absorption line indices measured in the integrated spectra of globular clusters both from the Galaxy and from M 31. Our samples include 41 Galactic globular clusters, and more than 300 clusters in M 31. The conversion of instrumental equivalent widths into the Lick system is described, and zero-point uncertainties are provided. Comparison of line indices of old M 31 clusters and Galactic globular clusters suggests an absence of important differences in chemical composition between the two cluster systems. In particular, CN indices in the spectra of M 31 and Galactic clusters are essentially consistent with each other, in disagreement with several previous works. We reanalyze some of the previous data, and conclude that reported CN differences between M 31 and Galactic clusters were mostly due to data calibration uncertainties. Our data support the conclusion that the chemical compositions of Milky Way and M 31 globular clusters are not substantially different, and that there is no need to resort to enhanced nitrogen abundances to account for the optical spectra of M 31 globular clusters.Comment: 72 pages, including 15 figures and 14 tables. Published by the Astronomical Journa

Reactive Attachment Disorder in maltreated young children in foster care

Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is one of the least researched and most poorly understood psychiatric disorders. Very little is known about the prevalence and stability of RAD symptoms over time. Until recently it has been difficult to investigate RAD due to limited tools for informing a diagnosis. Utilising a newly developed observational tool along with the Disturbances of Attachment Interview. this short-term prospective longitudinal study explored RAD symptoms in maltreated young children in Scotland (n=100, age range =12-62 months) over 12 months. Children were recruited as part of The Best Services Trial (BeST ), in which all infants who came in to the care of the local authority in Glasgow due to child protection concerns were invited to participate. Prevalence of RAD was found to be 5.0% (n=5, 95% CI [0.7-9.3]) when children were first placed in to foster care. Following at least 1 year of improved care conditions, prevalence in the 76 children remaining in the study was 2.1% (n=2, 95% CI [below 0-4.7]). RAD was associated with some mental health and cognitive difficulties. While levels of carer-reported RAD symptoms decreased significantly over time, observed symptoms did not. Findings suggest that RAD resolved in a small majority of cases but further exploration in larger samples would be invaluable

Can Reactive Attachment Disorder persist in nurturing placement? A systematic review and clinical case series

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), is characterized by failure to seek and accept comfort in maltreated children. This lack of activation of the attachment system has profound developmental disadvantages yet, in early childhood, usually resolves quickly after placement in nurturing care. Persistence of RAD into middle childhood has been demonstrated in children reared in Romanian Institutions but, in family-reared children older children, there is controversy regarding whether RAD-like behaviors are genuinely attachment-related and stable from early childhood or are, in fact, related to PTSD. We conducted two pieces of research to investigate this: 1. a systematic review to examine persistence/resolution of RAD and 2. a case series of three boys whose RAD symptoms persisted despite living in placements judged by both social and child health services to be of good quality. Our systematic review revealed a paucity of longitudinal data. Except in atypical institutionalized samples, RAD had not been evidenced beyond pre-school. All three boys in the case series met DSM 5 criteria for RAD in late childhood/early adolescence and had stable RAD symptoms since before age 5. Qualitative interviews with their families revealed common themes of family strain, frustration and resentment at the lack of support from services. This paper provides the first opportunity to generate testable hypotheses about environmental circumstances and coexisting symptomatology that may influence RAD trajectories. Persistence of RAD has profoundly negative implications for children and their families. Recognition of RAD symptoms is challenging but crucial in order to improve care of these children and their families

Innovative package for frontline maternal, newborn and child health workers in South Sudan

Improving maternal, newborn, and child health is a leading priority worldwide. It is a particularly urgent issue in South Sudan, which suffers from the world’s worst maternal mortality and among the worst newborn and child mortalities. A leading barrier to improving these health indices is limited frontline health worker capacity. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Division of Global Health and Human Rights (Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA) has developed and is currently implementing its novel Maternal, Newborn, and Child Survival (MNCS) Initiative throughout much of South Sudan. The purpose of MNCS is to build frontline health worker capacity through a training package that includes:1. A participatory training course2. Pictorial checklists to guide prevention, care, and referral3. Re-useable medical equipment and commodities.Program implementation began in November 2010 utilizing a training-of-trainers model. To date, 72 local trainers and 632 frontline health workers have completed the training and received their MNCS checklists and commodities. Initial monitoring and evaluation results are encouraging as further evaluation continues. This innovative training package may also serve as a model for building capacity for maternal, newborn, and child health in other resource limited settings beyond South Sudan