“YOU CAN STAY IF YOU WANT” -- WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES PROVIDING RAPE CRISIS MEDICAL ADVOCACY

Many survivors of sexual trauma describe the forensic rape exam as a second rape (Campbell et al., 1999; Parrot, 1991). Rape crisis medical advocates (RCMAs) assist survivors through this process, a time of particular vulnerability to retraumatization (Resnick, Acierno, Holmes, Kilpatrick, & Jager, 1999), by providing emotional support, education, and advocacy for comprehensive and respectful services. Campbell (2006) stated that the primary role of the RCMA is to reduce victim-blame, or the tendency to blame the victim of a crime for the crime or the circumstances leading up to it. The literature has consistently shown that survivors who worked with RCMAs received more medical and legal services and were less likely to feel revictimized (Campbell, 2006; Resnick et al., 1999; Wasco et al., 2004), but the impact of the work on RCMAs has not been sufficiently examined. Previous research has shown that many advocates experienced anger and fear in relation to the work (Wasco & Campbell, 2002), that RCMAs who witnessed more victim-blame reported less satisfaction with the work and lower levels of affective commitment to the job (Hellman & House, 2006), and that professional counselors who worked with trauma survivors reported higher levels of vicarious trauma than those who did not (Schauben & Frazier, 1995). Other researchers have shown that counselors who worked with trauma survivors reported higher traumatic stress than those who did not, and counselors who worked with victims of sexual trauma endorsed more disruptive beliefs about self, others, and the world (Bober & Regehr, 2005). However, the appropriateness of generalizing results observed among counselors to RCMAs is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine possible predictors of RCMAs’ experiences of vicarious trauma (VT) and vicarious post-traumatic growth (VPTG). Since a great deal of research examining the effects of trauma on care-providers focuses on individual-level contributing variables like personality style, coping skills, and history of victimization (Kelley, Schwerin, Farrar, & Lane, 2005; King, King, Fairbank, & Adams, 1998; Pearlman & Mac Ian, 1995), in this study I examined the predictive ability of several environmental/contextual/systemic variables on RCMAs ratings of VT and VPTG, including caseload, amount of formal individual and group supervision received, ratings of social community at work, meaning of the work, emotional demands of the work, and perceptions of witnessing VB by police and medical staff. One hundred and sixty-four RCMAs participated in this internet-based survey research. A series of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that higher ratings of VT were predicted by younger age, lower amounts of formal group supervision received, and lower ratings of the social community at work and the meaning of the work. Ratings of VPTG were significantly and positively predicted by amount of formal individual supervision received, and negatively predicted by age and educational achievement. Interpretations and recommendations are provided to assist rape crisis agencies in supporting RCMAs in their work

Online Story Comprehension among Children with ADHD: Which Core Deficits are Involved?

Children with ADHD have difficulty understanding causal connections and goal plans within stories. This study examined mediators of group differences in story narrations between children ages 7-9 with and without ADHD, including as potential mediators both the core deficits of ADHD (i.e., inattention, disinhibition, planning/working memory) as well measures of phonological processing and verbal skills. Forty-nine children with ADHD and 67 non-referred children narrated a wordless book and completed tasks assessing the core deficits of ADHD, phonological processing, and verbal skills. Results revealed that, although no shorter than those of non-referred children, the narratives of children with ADHD contained fewer elements relating to the story’s causal structure and goal plan. Deficits in sustained attention accounted for the most variance in these differences. Results have implications for understanding and ameliorating the academic problems experienced by children with ADHD

The emergence of multi-sided platform MNEs: internalization theory and networks

The rise of the digital economy provides firms across the globe with unique business opportunities. Companies such as Facebook, Alibaba, and Uber are competing in a new multi-sided platform world; the primary focus of these firms, from their inception, is to provide digital infrastructure, information and technology—intangible assets that enable direct interaction or value creation across platforms by linking different user group and complementors, often at the international level. Building on data drawn from multinational multisided Platform corporations (MMPCs) operating in China, we combine insights from internalization theory and network effects in understanding the value creation of such firms. We explore the boundaries of these new “breed” of MNEs in exploiting firm-specific advantages (FSAs) and in creating new knowledge between headquarters and subsidiaries. The findings suggest that internalization theory needs to shift its focus from the ‘boundaries of the firm’ to the ‘boundaries of the local network’. By integrating their internal and external networks of knowledge in adapting their business models in host markets, this new breed of MNEs is more likely than the traditional one to gain a sustainable competitive advantage in the new information age

Autoimmune aspects of psoriasis: Heritability and autoantigens

Chronic immune-mediated disorders (IMDs) constitute a major health burden. Understanding IMD pathogenesis is facing two major constraints: Missing heritability explaining familial clustering, and missing autoantigens. Pinpointing IMD risk genes and autoimmune targets, however, is of fundamental importance for developing novel causal therapies. The strongest association of all IMDs is seen with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. Using psoriasis as an IMD model this article reviews the pathogenic role HLA molecules may have within the polygenic predisposition of IMDs. It concludes that disease-associated HLA alleles account for both missing heritability and autoimmune mechanisms by facilitating tissue-specific autoimmune responses through autoantigen presentation. (C) 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V

Online Story Comprehension among Children with ADHD: Which Core Deficits are Involved?

Children with ADHD have difficulty understanding causal connections and goal plans within stories. This study examined mediators of group differences in story narrations between children ages 7-9 with and without ADHD, including as potential mediators both the core deficits of ADHD (i.e., inattention, disinhibition, planning/working memory) as well measures of phonological processing and verbal skills. Forty-nine children with ADHD and 67 non-referred children narrated a wordless book and completed tasks assessing the core deficits of ADHD, phonological processing, and verbal skills. Results revealed that, although no shorter than those of non-referred children, the narratives of children with ADHD contained fewer elements relating to the story’s causal structure and goal plan. Deficits in sustained attention accounted for the most variance in these differences. Results have implications for understanding and ameliorating the academic problems experienced by children with ADHD