DePaul University

About: DePaul University is a education organization based out in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 5658 authors who have published 11562 publications receiving 295257 citations.

Assessing parenting competence in child protection cases: a clinical practice model.

Abstract: Evaluating parents in the context of possible abuse or neglect involves unique challenges. This paper describes a practice model for conducting clinical evaluations of parents' ability to care for young children (under age 8). Core features of the model include (a) a focus on parenting qualities and the parent-child relationship, (b) a functional approach emphasizing behaviors and skills in everyday performance, and (c) application of a minimal parenting standard. Several factors complicate the assessment task, namely, the absence of universally accepted standards of minimal parenting adequacy, the coercive context of the assessment, the scarcity of appropriate measures, difficulties predicting future behavior, and the likely use of the evaluation in legal proceedings. In the proposed model, the evaluator (a) clarifies specific referral questions in advance; (b) uses a multimethod, multisource, multisession approach; (c) organizes findings in terms of parent-child fit; (d) prepares an objective, behaviorally descriptive report that articulates the logic for the evaluator's clinical opinions regarding the referral questions; and (e) refrains from offering opinions regarding ultimate legal issues. The paper describes requisite skills needed to conduct parental fitness evaluations, sample methods, and a protocol for writing the evaluation report.

Using extracurricular activity as an indicator of interpersonal skill: Prudent evaluation or recruiting malpractice?

Abstract: There is widespread agreement that success in organizations requires more than high intellect. Thus, college recruiters commonly examine job candidates' extracurricular activities in search of “well-rounded,” emotionally intelligent, and interpersonally skilled students. Intuitively, extracurricular activities seem like valuable student experiences; however, research evidence is sparse, suggesting far more questions than answers. Is participation in extracurricular activity truly linked to interpersonal skill performance? Does leadership experience make a difference? Do extracurricular experiences yield higher skill development? Six hundred eighteen business students and the relationship of their extracurricular involvement to four interpersonal skills were examined. Significant relationships were found and recruitment implications are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improving automated requirements trace retrieval: a study of term-based enhancement methods

Abstract: Automated requirements traceability methods that utilize Information Retrieval (IR) methods to generate and maintain traceability links are often more efficient than traditional manual approaches, however the traces they generate are imprecise and significant human effort is needed to evaluate and filter the results. This paper investigates and compares three term-based enhancement methods that are designed to improve the performance of a probabilistic automated tracing tool. Empirical studies show that the enhancement methods can be effective in increasing the accuracy of the retrieved traces; however the effectiveness of each method varies according to specific project characteristics. The analysis of such characteristics has lead to the development of two new project-level metrics which can be used to predict the effectiveness of each enhancement method for a given data set. A procedure to automatically extract critical keywords and phrases from a set of traceable artifacts is also presented to enhance the automated trace retrieval algorithm. The procedure is tested on two new datasets.

Supervisory emotional support and burnout: An explanation of reverse buffering effects.

Abstract: The current operating and economic conditions for organizations have had a substantial impact on employees' work demands and obligations. Businesses are increasingly pressured to make rapid changes to their workforce as the trends toward restructuring and downsizing continue to be an integral part of the economic and employment landscape (Coffey et al., 1994; Hitt, 1998). In some instances, staff reductions created through restructuring and downsizing have resulted in "lean and mean" organizations, which may lead to increased work expectations and longer working hours on the part of the surviving employees (Moskal, 1992). Corresponding with all of these changes, researchers and practitioners have attempted to uncover job and organizational factors that contribute to the employee burnout process (see Cordes and Dougherty, 1993; Kahn and Byosiere, 1992). Over the last two decades, most of the research focus has been on investigating the relationships between specific demands or stressors of the job and adversi ve employee outcomes or strains (for example, burnout), with subsequent consequences for the organization (job dissatisfaction, poor in-role job performance, and intentions to quit). Moreover, research has also focused on those factors that may alleviate the adversive effects of some of these job stressors. Theoretically, at the heart of this study is the relationship between stressors and strains as described by Beehr (1995) in his model illustrative of the occupational stress research program. Work environment stressors, such as role conflict and time pressure, are characteristics of the work that may adversely affect an individual (cause human strains). Burnout is an example of a psychological strain (Beehr et al., 1990; Gaines and Jermier, 1983). Although most researchers agree that burnout is composed of three factors (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment; Cordes and Dougherty, 1993), several authors see the emotional exhaustion component as the main factor (Beehr et al., 1990; Gaines and Jermier, 1983; Maslach, 1982). Emotional exhaustion is a feeling of being emotionally depleted and exhausted by one's work (Maslach and Jackson, 1981). As such, emotional exhaustion might be seen as a rather extreme result of chronic emotional stress (Maslach and Jackson, 1986). Man y researchers (for example, Burke and Greenglass, 1995; Lee and Ashforth, 1993; Wright and Bonett, 1997) have not only argued that emotional exhaustion plays a salient role in the burnout process, but have found emotional exhaustion to be a strong predictor of job and life satisfaction, subsequent job performance, absenteeism, commitment, and turnover intentions. One factor which may alleviate the effects of job stress is the amount of supervisory support an employee receives during stressful events and occurrences (see House, 1981; Kasl and Wells, 1985). That is, once employee stress is recognized and noticed, supervisors can provide the individual employee with both emotional and instrumental support that serves to buffer or reduce the effects that job stressors can have on job-related attitudes and outcomes. Thus, the association that exists between these stressors and adverse employee behaviors is moderated by the employee's perception of supervisory support, both emotional and instrumental, given to him/her through daily interactions in the work environment. Emotional support is often characterized by actively listening and caring about the needs of an employee, whereas instrumental support is often characterized by the behaviors of giving tangible assistance and expertise in completing a job responsibility or task (Kaufmann and Beehr, 1986). However, as asserted by Fenlason and Beehr (1994), the debate over the buffering effects of these types of support has yet to be settled. Across many studies, the results have been inconsistent in investigating the function of support as a buffer between job stressors and burnout. …

The current state of knowledge on electronic word-of-mouth in advertising research

Abstract: With the development of new and digital media, consumers are increasingly giving, seeking, and sharing their brand-related experiences via online channels that lead to electronic word-of-mouth (eWO...