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Strength-based assessment has achieved acceptance from educational, mental health, and social service professionals as a means to measuring emotional and behavioral strengths of children. Several standardized, norm-referenced tests have been developed to assess these strengths; however, the primary mode of assessment is via informal interviews of parents and caregivers. In many cases, these interviews lack psychometric support, including basic validity and reliability. The purpose of this study was to document the multistep process used to establish the content validity of a newly developed instrument: Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: Strength-Based Interview. Specifically, the results of a survey of 40 U.S. professional mental health staff and educators are described where respondents rated the importance of interview questions to the construct of strength-based assessment. The findings of the survey as well as the 18 items deemed most important are reported. Research limitations, future research, and implications for mental health and educational professionals are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent severe storm experiences in the U.S. Gulf Coast illustrate the importance of an integrated approach to flood preparedness planning that harmonizes stakeholder and agency efforts. Risk management decisions that are informed by and address decision maker and stakeholder risk perceptions and behavior are essential for effective risk management policy. A literature review and two expert models/mental models studies were undertaken to identify areas of importance in the flood risk management process for layperson, non-USACE-expert, and two USACE-expert groups. In characterizing and mapping stakeholder beliefs about risks in the literature onto current risk management practice, recommendations for accommodating and changing stakeholder perceptions of flood risks and their management are identified. Needs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood preparedness and response program are discussed in the context of flood risk mental models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the equality framework behind California's Insurance Gender Non-Discrimination Act, the first statewide law in the U.S. which prohibited gender identity discrimination in insurance. The California Department of Insurance issued regulations that provide guidance to insurance carriers about practices constituting impermissible discrimination in early 2012. The regulations reportedly play a role in improving access to insurance coverage for transgender Californians.

The article deals with issues relating to the regulation of duct access for next generation access (NGA) networks in Europe and an overview of the lessons learned from the U.S. regulatory framework. In the U.S., regulatory frameworks apply to access to poles, ducts, conduits and rights of way and access to network transmission and switching facilities and services on a wholesale basis. The first right of access removes a barrier to entry for cable local exchange carriers (CLECs) while in the second right of access, regulation has been eliminated for many categories of incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) network facilities and wholesale services to which CLECs seek access. Among the key issues that Europe face are electric utility infrastructure, non-discrimination rules and pricing.

This article examines the labor supply of the fop golfers on the American PGA tour from 1997 to 2003. Three hypotheses ore proposed about the participation rates of these players to show that the purse alone is not enough to explain entry. The participation rate proves to be influenced by the characteristics of other tournaments and seasonal effects. The participation rate and the purse ore shown to hove an endogeneity problem. And players prefer to play golf tournaments that they have played in before and played well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Whether obesity is associated with meningioma and the impact of obesity by gender has been debated. The primary objective of this study was to investigate differences in BMI between male and female patients undergoing craniotomy for meningioma and compare those with patients undergoing craniotomy for other intracranial tumors. The secondary objective was to compare meningioma location and progression-free survival (PFS) between obese and nonobese patients in a multi-institutional cohort., Methods: National data were obtained from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Male and female patients were analyzed separately. Patients undergoing craniotomies for meningioma were compared with patients of the same sex undergoing craniotomies for other intracranial tumors. Institutional data from two academic centers were collected for all male and an equivalent number of female meningioma patients undergoing meningioma resection. Multivariate regression controlling for age was used to determine differences in meningioma location. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were computed to investigate differences in PFS., Results: From NSQIP, 4163 male meningioma patients were compared with 24,266 controls, and 9372 female meningioma patients were compared with 21,538 controls. Male and female patients undergoing meningioma resection were more likely to be overweight or obese compared with patients undergoing craniotomy for other tumors, with the odds ratio increasing with increasing weight class (all p < 0.0001). In the multi-institutional cohort, meningiomas were more common along the skull base in male patients (p = 0.0123), but not in female patients (p = 0.1246). There was no difference in PFS between obese and nonobese male (p = 0.4104) or female (p = 0.5504) patients. Obesity was associated with increased risk of pulmonary embolism in both male and female patients undergoing meningioma resection (p = 0.0043)., Conclusions: Male and female patients undergoing meningioma resection are more likely to be obese than patients undergoing craniotomy for other intracranial tumors. Obese males are more likely to have meningiomas in the skull base compared with other locations, but this association was not found in females. There was no significant difference in PFS among obese patients. The mechanism by which obesity increases meningioma incidence remains to be determined.

Background: Traumatic peripheral nerve injuries cause chronic pain, disability, and long-term reductions in quality of life. However, their incidence after extremity trauma remains poorly understood., Methods: The IBM® MarketScan® Commercial Database from 2010 to 2015 was used to identify patients aged 18 to 64 who presented to emergency departments for upper and/or lower extremity traumas. Cumulative incidences were calculated for nerve injuries diagnosed within 2 years of trauma. Cox regression models were developed to evaluate the associations between upper extremity nerve injury and chronic pain, disability, and use of physical therapy or occupational therapy., Results: The final cohort consisted of 1 230 362 patients with employer-sponsored health plans. Nerve injuries were diagnosed in 2.6% of upper extremity trauma patients and 1.2% of lower extremity trauma patients. Only 9% and 38% of nerve injuries were diagnosed by the time of emergency department and hospital discharge, respectively. Patients with nerve injuries were more likely to be diagnosed with chronic pain (hazard ratio [HR]: 5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.3-8.2), use physical therapy services (HR: 10.7, 95% CI, 8.8-13.1), and use occupational therapy services (HR: 19.2, 95% CI, 15.4-24.0) more than 90 days after injury., Conclusions: The incidence of nerve injury in this national cohort was higher than previously reported. A minority of injuries were diagnosed by emergency department or hospital discharge. These findings may improve practitioner awareness and inform public health interventions for injury prevention.

Recent severe storm experiences in the U.S. Gulf Coast illustrate the importance of an integrated approach to flood preparedness planning that harmonizes stakeholder and agency efforts. Risk management decisions that are informed by and address decision maker and stakeholder risk perceptions and behavior are essential for effective risk management policy. A literature review and two expert models/mental models studies were undertaken to identify areas of importance in the flood risk management process for layperson, non-USACE-expert, and two USACE-expert groups. In characterizing and mapping stakeholder beliefs about risks in the literature onto current risk management practice, recommendations for accommodating and changing stakeholder perceptions of flood risks and their management are identified. Needs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood preparedness and response program are discussed in the context of flood risk mental models., (© 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.)