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 & Context (language use). The organization has 5658 authors who have published 11562 publications receiving 295257 citations.

Promises Made, Promises Broken: An Exploration of Employee Attraction and Retention Practices in Small Business

Abstract: Entrepreneurial organizations have undergone substantial workforce changes and transformations during the last two decades in order to compete successfully on a global scale. The ability to attract and retain reliable and competent employees has become a key component in developing an effective and sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of the psychological contract and the types of promises made and communicated by small business organizations to attract and retain their employees. From a sample of 151 employees within small businesses, the results demonstrate that perceived unfulfilled promises can have a considerable impact on workplace attitudes, commitment, and intentions to leave the organization. Implications and recommendations for small businesses as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Natural Mentors, Racial Identity, and Educational Attainment Among African American Adolescents: Exploring Pathways to Success

Abstract: The present study explored how relationships with natural mentors may contribute to African American adolescents’ long-term educational attainment by influencing adolescents’ racial identity and academic beliefs. This study included 541 academically at-risk African American adolescents transitioning into adulthood. The mean age of participants at Time 1 was 17.8 (SD = .64) and slightly over half (54%) of study participants were female. Results of the current study indicated that relationships with natural mentors promoted more positive long-term educational attainment among participants through increased private regard (a dimension of racial identity) and stronger beliefs in the importance of doing well in school for future success. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

A Community Mental Health Implementation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

Abstract: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has been identified as an evidence-based practice in the treatment of externalizing behavior among preschool-aged youth. Although considerable research has established its efficacy, little is known about the effectiveness of PCIT when delivered in a community mental health setting with underserved youth. The current pilot study investigated an implementation of PCIT with primarily low-socioeconomic status, urban, ethnic minority youth and families. The families of 14 clinically referred children aged 2-7 years and demonstrating externalizing behavior completed PCIT initial assessment, and 12 began treatment. Using standard PCIT completion criteria, 4 families completed treatment; and these families demonstrated clinically significant change on observational and self-report measures of parent behavior, parenting stress, and child functioning. Although treatment dropouts demonstrated more attenuated changes, observational data and parent-reported problems across sessions indicated some improvements with lower doses of intervention. Attendance and adherence data, referral source, barriers to treatment participation, and treatment satisfaction across completers and dropouts are discussed to highlight differences between the current sample and prior PCIT research. The findings suggest that PCIT can be delivered successfully in an underserved community sample when families remain in treatment, but that premature dropout limits treatment effectiveness. The findings suggest potential directions for research to improve uptake of PCIT in a community service setting.

Types and effects for asymmetric cryptographic protocols

Abstract: We present the first type and effect system for proving authenticity properties of security protocols based on asymmetric cryptography. The most significant new features of our type system are: (1) a separation of public types (for data possibly sent to the opponent) from tainted types (for data possibly received from the opponent) via a subtype relation; (2) trust effects, to guarantee that tainted data does not, in fact, originate from the opponent; and (3) challenge/response types to support a variety of idioms used to guarantee message freshness. We illustrate the applicability of our system via protocol examples.

Dark Patterns in the Design of Games

Abstract: Game designers are typically regarded as advocates for players. However, a game creator’s interests may not align with the players’. We examine some of the ways in which those opposed interests can manifest in a game’s design. In particular, we examine those elements of a game’s design whose purpose can be argued as questionable and perhaps even unethical. Building upon earlier work in design patterns, we call these abstracted elements Dark Game Design Patterns. In this paper, we develop the concept of dark design patterns in games, present examples of such patterns, explore some of the subtleties involved in identifying them, and provide questions that can be asked to help guide in the specification and identification of future Dark Patterns. Our goal is not to criticize creators but rather to contribute to an ongoing discussion regarding the values in games and the role that designers and creators have in this process.