Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
End-users, Public Services, and Industrial Relations: The Restructuring of Social Services in Ontario

The global financial crisis beginning in 2008 resulted in a ballooning public debt and government efforts to constrain public expenditures. Responses to the financial crisis and its impact on human services in Ontario demonstrate the complex interactions across key actors – employers, government, unions, and family advocates. Building on previous scholarship which has explored the role of end-users as industrial relations actors (Bellemare, 2000; Kessler and Bach, 2011) this study deepens our understanding of the role and impact of end-users on the process and outcomes of industrial relations in the social services sector. The main contribution of the paper shows how end-users play unique and complex roles as industrial relations actors in Ontario’s developmental services sector. End-users have had a significant impact at three distinct levels of the industrial relations system (Bellemare, 2000). First, at the strategic level of public policy, in addition to the more traditional forms of grassroots lobbying, end-users have taken on formal roles in the governance network shaping public policy. The impacts of end-user advocacy have contributed to the significant transformation of the developmental services sector, including the closure of the remaining provincially-run institutions in 2009. Second, at the organizational level, end-users have displaced the traditional roles of employers. In some cases, this displacement has resulted in end-users operating as co-managers, with end-user management rights enshrined in collective agreements. In more significant ways, end-users have entirely replaced agency-based managers and become the employer of direct support staff. Third, end-users have driven changes at the level of the work process itself, going beyond the co-production of services, contributing to changes in the nature of direct support work. The work process has shifted from a focus on custodial care to more complex objectives of community development and social inclusion.
Developing a More Inclusive Social Identity: An Elementary School Intervention

School integration, stimulated by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, has influenced students' social and educational experiences. Drawing on practice and theory, we focus on strategies for improving intergrouprelations. In a series of sessions over four-weeks, 830 first and second grade children participated in Green Circle program activities designed to widen their circles of inclusion to include people who are different from themselves. Although the intervention did not influence children's biases in sharing or how happy they would be playing with others who were different from themselves based on race, sex, and weight, it did lead them to be more inclusive in selecting their most preferred playmate. Implications for friendship development and improvement in intergroup attitudes are considered.
On Obtaining Dual Sequences Via Quasi-Monomiality

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a method to obtain the dual sequence of a given polynomial set using the lowering operator associated with the involved polynomials. As application, we derive polynomial expansions of analytic functions. The particular case corresponding to Boas–Buck polynomials allows us to unify many polynomial expansions of analytic functions in the literature. This method can be useful in studying many problems arising in the theory of polynomials as the so-called connection and linearization problems.
Input frequency and the acquisition of subject-verb agreement in number in spoken and written French

ABSTRACT The present study focuses on the characteristics of subject-verb agreement in number in spoken and written French, two morphological systems that are very different. In particular, we investigate the impact of frequency of forms and morphological patterns in the input on the acquisition of number agreement in monolingual and bilingual French-speaking children (n = 32). Our results demonstrate an almost perfect fit between the partial and heterogeneous nature of number agreement in the spoken input and the errors found in the children's spoken narratives. However, the influence of a highly systematic written number-agreement on the children's written narratives is weak, mainly due to the lack of phonological cues of number agreement in written French.
Anthropological demography: toward a new synthesis.

The chapters in this volume are substantially revised versions of papers originally presented at the Brown University Conference on Anthropological Demography November 3-5 1994. This volume is motivated by a sense that the time is ripe for a reconsideration and renewal of past achievements together with the development of a new synthesis in the relationship between anthropology and demography. The contributions take various and not always reconcilable points of view. The opening chapters for example illustrate that the foundations of demographic engagement with anthropology in issues of kinship social organization and the formation of domestic groups are as alive and valid today as in the past. Subsequent chapters expand on standard demographic concepts by demonstrating the role of anthropology in rethinking their cross-cultural validity. Some chapters more critically evaluate the relationship between demography and anthropology with reference to their epistemological roots while others apply specific frameworks from the general anthropological and theoretical literature to demographic issues. (EXCERPT)
’Fear of Crime’, Vulnerability and Poverty

This article is based on a study which employs the notion of vulnerability to explore perceptions of safety among people living in poverty. It is suggested that'fear of crime' among poor people should not be seen in isolation from other insecurities which they may experience as a result of local, national, and international processes.1 Analysis based on the 1994 British Crime Survey demonstrates strong support for the view that some population groups-either because of their physical inability to defend themselves or social and economic position-may feel less safe than others.
Red-shifts and red herrings in geographical ecology

I draw attention to the need for ecologists to take spatial structure into account more seriously in hypothesis testing. If spatial autocorrelation is ignored, as it usually is, then analyses of ecological patterns in terms of environmental factors can produce very misleading results. This is demonstrated using synthetic but realistic spatial patterns with known spatial properties which are subjected to classical correlation and multiple regression analyses. Correlation between an autocorrelated response variable and each of a set of explanatory variables is strongly biased in favour of those explanatory variables that are highly autocorrelated - the expected magnitude of the correlation coefficient increases with autocorrelation even if the spatial patterns are completely independent. Similarly, multiple regression analysis finds highly autocorrelated explanatory variables “significant” much more frequently than it should. The chances of mistakenly identifying a “significant” slope across an autocorrelated pattern is very high if classical regression is used. Consequently, under these circumstances strongly autocorrelated environmental factors reported in the literature as associated with ecological patterns may not actually be significant. It is likely that these factors wrongly described as important constitute a red-shifted subset of the set of potential explanations, and that more spatially discontinuous factors (those with bluer spectra) are actually relatively more important than their present status suggests. There is much that ecologists can do to improve on this situation. I discuss various approaches to the problem of spatial autocorrelation from the literature and present a randomisation test for the association of two spatial patterns which has advantages over currently available methods.
School Effectiveness Research: criticisms and recommendations

ABSTRACT Much research on school effectiveness has been characterised by largely overstated claims and poor modelling. School effectiveness research (SER) has tended to define ‘effectiveness’ in terms of a restricted and often inappropriate range of outcomes, to overlook the issue of curriculum alignment, to be limited by the absence of longitudinal data, and it has often been characterised by unsupported assumptions about the homogeneity of school ‘effects’. SER needs to provide justification for the interpretation of ‘effectiveness’ defined as the unexplained part of performance in a statistical model, and a much clearer conception of why certain relationships exist is required. SER has yet to demonstrate the extent to which differences among schools in their ‘effectiveness’ are really caused by identifiable factors within the school and, more importantly, factors within the school's control; evaluations of school improvement interventions are generally unconvincing in this respect. Repeated findings of.
Now into big strides: report on statutory status for the South African Library and Information Services sector

CITATION: Raju, R. , Witbooi, S. & Goosen, A. 2012. Now into big strides : report on statutory status for the South African Library and Information Services sector. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, (Special launch issue): 56-75, doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.7553/80-2-32.
RESPONSES OF UNDERSTORY RAIN FOREST BIRDS TO ROAD EDGES IN CENTRAL AMAZONIA

In the lowland tropical rain forest of central Amazonia, I investigated the responses of understory bird communities to forest edges bordering a narrow (<40 m width), unpaved road. From 3681 mist-net captures, bird abundance and composition were examined at three distances (10, 70, and 130 m) from forest edge. The degree to which regrowth vegetation along forest borders reduced edge effects was also assessed by contrasting bird communities near roads with varying levels of regrowth. Forests near road margins had reduced canopy cover and height and higher numbers of fallen trees than did forest interiors. Bird communities near forest edges also differed markedly from those in forest interiors. Total bird captures and captures of insectivores increased with distance from edge, whereas captures of frugivores and nectarivores did not vary significantly. Mature regrowth on edges significantly increased the captures of insectivores. When insectivorous birds were divided into feeding guilds, birds in six of eight guilds showed significant responses to distance from edge; five of these had fewer captures near road margins whereas one guild (edge/gap specialists) had higher captures. For most guilds, significant alterations in abundance and species composition were evident within 10–70 m of road margins. My results suggest that the majority of Amazonian understory birds respond negatively to artificial edges created by a narrow, unpaved road. Forest regrowth along road margins alleviated negative edge effects for only a limited subset of forest-dependent species.
Identifying of the refractive index for the acoustic equation at fixed frequency

In this paper we determine a formula for calculating the refractive index ${\bf n}$ for the acoustic equation from the partial Dirichlet to Neumann map(DN) associated to ${\bf n}$. We apply these results to identify locations and values of small volume perturbations of this refractive index at fixed frequency $\omega$.
Cross-Cultural Differences in Reactions to Daily Events as Indicators of Cross-Cultural Differences in Self-Construction and Affect

Every day for two weeks, participants at four sites (2 in the US, 1 in Canada, and 1 in Japan) described their self-esteem and affect and they described the events that occurred each day. Multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses found that the self_esteem of Japanese participants changed more in reaction to daily social events (both positive and negative) than it did for North American participants. For positive social events, the Japanese were more reactive in terms of positive affect than North Americans. For negative social events, the Japanese were more reactive in terms of depressed mood (ND) and deactive positive affect (PD) than North Americans. In contrast, the Japanese were less reactive to negative achievement events than North Americans in terms of PA and anxious mood. The Japanese were more reactive than North Americans to positive achievement events in terms of PA and ND. The results highlight the greater sensitivity of the Japanese to social concerns compared to North Americans, and the greater affective sensitivity of North Americans to failure in achievement domains.
A peer-to-peer on-demand streaming service and its performance evaluation

Providing on-demand video streaming service over the Internet is a challenging task. In this paper, we propose DirectStream, a directory based peer-to-peer video streaming service that efficiently and cost-effectively provides video on-demand service with VCR operation support. We analytically and experimentally examine the system performance, and show that the proposed scheme can significantly reduce the workload posed on the server, and that it scales extremely well as the popularity of the video increases even if participating clients behave non-cooperatively. We propose a QoS parent selection algorithm to construct the appropriate peer-to-peer networks, and discuss how to provide continuous playback in the face of clients' early departures. Our study suggests that peer-to-peer networking is a promising technique to address scalability in on-demand streaming service.
Emergent dialogue as a prerequisite of learning and innovation in professional virtual communities

In this paper we explore virtual communities of practice VCoPs and the way in which educational professionals learn and generate innovations therein. The point of departure is that innovation practice is based mainly on the interaction and communication between professionals and that virtual communities add a new dimension to this interaction. Our empirical data were collected from three web discussion threads of a virtual discussion forum. 677 statements were classified into 15 dialogue themes. Using the five cycles of value creation by Wenger et al. 2011, these themes were further classified into different stages in the innovation development process. The contribution of this study is in showing that the cycles of value creation can be used to describe the processes of networked learning and innovation development in virtual communities used by professionals. We found out that copious information and idea flows precede learning and innovation in these communities. Therefore, from the point of view of practical implications, we emphasise the importance of emergent dialogue as a prerequisite of learning and innovating.
Social Anxiety and Adolescents’ Friendships

Research indicates social anxiety is associated with lower friendship quality, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This 2-month longitudinal study examined social withdrawal as a mediator of the social anxiety–friendship quality link in a sample of 214 adolescents (Mage = 13.1 years, SD = .73) that included an oversampling of adolescents recently relocated to the community (n = 155). Findings provided preliminary support for the hypothesized models, in which social anxiety is associated with social withdrawal, which in turn is related to lower companionship and intimacy in adolescents’ friendships. Analyses testing whether relocation to a new community intensifies these associations indicated additive, but not multiplicative, effects of social anxiety and relocation on friendship companionship and intimacy. Implications include the importance of increasing socially anxious youths’ social engagement and skills with friends as well as with less familiar peers.
The Moderating Effects of Self-Talk Content on Self-Talk Functions

The purpose of the study was to examine whether different types of self-talk serve different functions. Twenty-one female swimming class students were initially tested on an experimental water polo precision task. After a three-day program during which participants practiced self-talk on swimming drills, they were tested again on the experimental task, using attentional and anxiety control self-talk cues. In addition, participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceived functions of self-talk, for each of the two self-talk cues that were used. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that according to participants’ perceptions the anxiety control self-talk cue had greater impact on anxiety control than the attentional self-talk cue (p < .01), whereas effects for attention, effort, confidence, and automaticity were similar when using attentional and anxiety control cues. Furthermore, repeated measures MANOVAs for each self-talk cue revealed that both cues mostly assisted concentration to the task (p < .01). The results partially support that the use of different types of self-talk may serve different functions depending on the content of the employed cues.
Identity Status, Identity Processing Style, and the Transition to University

The present study investigated the role that differences in identity orientations may play as students negotiate the transition to a university context. Measures of identity status, identity processing style, and student developmental tasks were administered to 363 entering university freshmen. Results indicated that differences in identity statuses accounted for significant variation in the students’ progress on measures of academic autonomy, educational involvement, and mature interpersonal relationships. Moreover, in most cases these associations were mediated by the students’identity processing style. In general, the findings suggest that students with an informational identity style are best prepared to effectively adapt within a university context, whereas those with a diffuse/avoidant style are most apt to encounter difficulties.
Posttraumatic world assumptions among treatment-seeking refugees

The clinical relevance of negative changes in cognitions about oneself, others, and the world is reflected in the diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the DSM-5 and complex posttraumatic stress disorder in the ICD-11. Although such changes in cognition have been posited to be especially relevant for traumatised refugees, few studies have examined this in refugee populations. The present study used a cross-sectional design to compare negative cognitions among 213 adult treatment-seeking refugees with those in previously published samples from the general population, veterans with combat-related PTSD, and whiplash victims. Measures included the World Assumptions Scale (WAS) and the Events and DSM-IV PTSD subscales of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Path models examined the relation of the WAS subscales to five demographic and trauma-related variables. Results showed that world assumptions were especially negative with regard to Benevolence of World, Benevolence of People, and Luck subscales, on which refugees scored lower than all reference samples. Differences between the refugee sample and the reference samples were smallest with regard to self-worth and self-controllability. World assumptions were associated with gender and PTSD symptom severity but not with age, length of residence in the Netherlands, and number of traumatic event types. The DSM-5 criterion of negative changes in belief about oneself, others, and the world appears more applicable to refugees than the more narrowly formulated ICD-11 criterion of diminished and defeated sense of self. Prevention and treatment efforts with refugees may need to be especially aimed at preventing a further decline of trust as well as restoration of trust in others and the world.
Resilience in Young Offenders

Youth offending is an important societal issue. A considerable amount of research has sought to examine the characteristics of young people who offend and to determine the factors within youth and their social environments that contribute to recidivism. More recently, research has begun to focus on those individual and environmental factors that help young people desist from offending. This has involved research into those individuals who cease offending after a period of criminal engagement and research into protective factors, that is, a factor whose presence is associated with increased protection from a negative outcome (i.e., offending). This article reviews these streams of research, with a particular focus on the protective factor of resilience. Implications of this research for clinicians will be discussed.
Using Online Satellite Imagery as a Research Tool

Research on urbanization in developing-countries is often complicated by a lack of data. Recently available online interfaces with maps and satellite imagery provide a potential source of up-to-date, free, and easy-to-use geographic information. This article evaluates one of these interfaces, Google Earth, as a tool for collecting data, illustrating the evaluation with two methodologies developed to study urbanization in Mexico. The first, used to collect data on road paving and housing density in informal settlements in Tijuana, is deemed successful, while the second, used to generate data on recent urban expansion in several Mexican cities, is not. The problem with the second methodology and primary limitation of the online tool is that satellite image data is presented without clear dates. Thus, its usefulness is determined by the time frame of analysis - as the period of time gets shorter, the uncertainty surrounding the end date becomes increasingly problematic.
Results of a prospective allocation policy of expanded criteria donors kidneys based on clinical parameters

Re L, Curcio D, Rial M, Goldberg J, Casadei D. Results of a prospective allocation policy of expanded criteria donors kidneys based on clinical parameters. Clin Transplant 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1399‐0012.2009. 01053.x © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
‘Instruments’, ‘employees’, ‘companions’, ‘social assets’: understanding relationships between persons with disabilities and their assistants in japan

In Japan, as in other advanced industrial societies, user–helper relationships shaped by the Independent Living Movement have gradually been taking root. In this study, we interviewed 31 Center for Independent Living (CIL) consumers in Japan in order to explore the nature of the relationship between persons with disabilities influenced by IL ideals and their assistants. Interviews revealed three significant dimensions to the relationship—one functional, one interpersonal and one collective. The functional dimension of the relationship was expressed in a characterization of assistants as ‘instruments’, the interpersonal dimension in their characterization as ‘employees’ (a task-orientated aspect) and ‘companions’ (a socio-emotional aspect), and the collective dimension in the characterization of assistants as ‘social assets’—individuals without disabilities who understand the ideals and demands of independent living. Participant responses also form the basis of our discussion of theoretical and practical implications for the building of user–helper relationships based within a user-centred agency in the context of Japanese medical and social services.