It has been argued for many years that a new standard of Mandarin is developing within Taiwan, distinct from the official form based on the Beijing pronunciation, as well as the nonstandard vernacular, Taiwan-guoyu. The parameters by which this new standard, Taiwanese Mandarin, may be recognized, however, and the extent to which it exists in…

Objective: The relationships between the occupational, educational, and verbal-cognitive characteristics of health care professionals and their motivational interviewing (MI) skills before, during, and after training were investigated. Method: Fifty-eight community-based addiction clinicians (M = 42.1 years, SD = 10.0; 66% Female) were assessed…

Problem: It has been suggested that gambling-related research more closely examine vulnerable population segments. Research indicates that college students are particularly vulnerable to experiencing disordered gambling behavior. Methods: We examined the gambling behavior and gambling-related Transtheoretical Model (TTM) construct (i.e., stage of…

The environmental integrity of many urban protected areas in developing countries is at risk and the important mission to reach out to people living close to them provides a special opportunity to spread the conservation message. Guided visitation to urban national parks with the necessary and appropriate interpretation can contribute towards…

This study examined how ADHD symptoms in mothers of children with ADHD relate to their behavior during parent-child interactions and to their children's disruptive behavior. Findings indicated that mothers' retrospective self-ratings of ADHD symptoms were related to their present negativity during parent-led play. Mothers' self-ratings of current…

Mother-daughter communication plays an influential role in adolescent development. The impact of maternal HIV infection on family communication is not clear. This study explores how living with HIV impacts sexual risk communication between mothers and daughters and whether maternal HIV status influences adolescent choices about engagement in HIV…

The present study is a large-scale randomized trial testing the efficacy of a family-school partnership model (i.e., conjoint behavioral consultation) for promoting behavioral competence and decreasing problem behaviors of students identified by their teachers as disruptive. The focus of this study is on student behavioral outcomes and the…

There is increasing emphasis on the use routine outcome assessment measures to inform quality assurance initiatives. The calculation of reliable and clinically significant change indices is one strategy that organizations could use to develop both internal and externally focused benchmarking processes. The current study aimed to develop reliable…

This focus group study explored the potential benefits and challenges of involving family members and significant others in a healthy lifestyle program for people with serious mental illness (SMI). Six focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 30 people with SMI, who were participants in a healthy lifestyle intervention. Separate focus…

Healthy Children, Strong Families (HCSF) is a 2-year, community-driven, family-based randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyles intervention conducted in partnership with four Wisconsin American Indian tribes. HCSF is composed of 1 year of targeted home visits to deliver nutritional and physical activity curricula. During Year 1, trained…

Persuasive technology is a sub-discipline of Human-Computer Interaction that has emerged within the last 10 years, and which has generated increasing interest in the application of persuasion to systems design. Most applications have to date been developed in commercial contexts, as well in the domain of health promotion. We present a mainly…

Individuals who engage in problem behavior should be taught an appropriate behavior that meets the same function and replaces the problem behavior. Often, there are several appropriate replacement behaviors, and guidance is needed to choose among them. This study employs a hybrid single subject design with a baseline, alternating treatments, and…

The objective of this study is to explore the eight fundamental moral characteristics of undergraduate students in order to benefit instructional model development. The eight moral characteristics are diligence, frugality, honesty, discipline, politeness, cleanliness, unity and generosity. The study findings rank these eight moral characteristics…

This study evaluates the 2008-2009 "Lose your Excuse" public service advertising (PSA) campaign on energy efficiency targeting 8- to 12-year-olds, intended to increase knowledge, foster proactive attitudes, and change energy usage behaviors. Baseline and two follow-up surveys were conducted with online samples representative of the national…

Objective: There is a substantial body of research on risk factors for violent behavior in adulthood but little empirical study of protective factors and desistance. Method: This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of factors hypothesized to reduce violent reoffending among a sample of 800 male prisoners following release into the…