Making Sense out of Incentives: A Framework for Considering the Design,Use, and Implementation of Incentives to Improve Attendance

ABSTRACT

Accumulating evidence indicates that student attendance is closely tied to a range of educational outcomes, and yet millions of students are chronically absent each year. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), schools are now held accountable for their students' attendance at a scale this country has never before seen. As such, this is a crucial time to understand what research and evaluations suggest about what schools can do to move the needle on student attendance. As researchers work toward understanding the impact of different interventions and practices, and how results vary by grade level, on-the-ground experiences in schools highlight the pervasive use of incentives from pre-K to grade 12. Schools have employed a wide range of incentives to improve attendance, with varied levels of success. Unfortunately, there is little guidance on what policymakers and practitioners ought to consider when deciding if incentives are an appropriate intervention, and then how to design incentives in ways that align with the nature of specific attendance barriers and problems. This article presents a framework to fill that gap. We outline the design considerations when creating attendance incentives and offer guidance to practitioners deciding what to implement in their school.     

Helicopter Parenting: The Effect of an Overbearing Caregiving Style on Peer Attachment and Self‐Efficacy

Helicopter parenting, an observed phenomenon on college campuses, may adversely affect college students. The authors examined how helicopter parenting is related to self‐efficacy and peer relationships among 190 undergraduate students ages 16 to 28 years. Helicopter parenting was associated with low self‐efficacy, alienation from peers, and a lack of trust among peers. Implications are provided for counselors and psychologists in college‐ and university‐based counseling centers to help them to understand and provide assessment and treatment for adult children of helicopter parents.     

In-House Training on New Library Processes at the NIST Research Library: A Case Study

This case study describes the development and implementation of a home-grown internal training program to teach the reference staff at a U.S. federal government library a new process for obtaining research materials that are not owned through alternative means rather than through the traditional interlibrary loan. Proficiency in the new process and increased use of existing resources were goals of the program. Included are the activities related to planning, logistics, success indicators, and lessons learned in the development and delivery of the in-house training program.     

Perceptions of Communication With Gay and Lesbian Family Members: Predictors of Relational Satisfaction and Implications for Outgroup Attitudes

This study investigates perceptions of family communication among members with different sexual identities. Specifically, from the perspective of heterosexual family members (N = 129), the study takes an intergroup perspective to determine how accommodative and non-accommodative communication and attitudes toward homosexuality predict intergroup anxiety and relational satisfaction with gay or lesbian family members. Further, the manner in which family communication influences attitudes toward homosexuality is examined. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research on heterosexual–homosexual interaction, family communication, and intergroup communication, in general.     

An analysis of Social StoriesTM research using an evidence‐based practice model

The number of Social Stories^TM studies and reviews has increased in recent years, yet concerns regarding quality and effect sizes continue to be expressed. With the emphasis on evidence‐based practices (EBPs) for the education and treatment of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), this issue becomes of paramount importance as professionals and parents attempt to select interventions for the people with ASD in their care. The current study makes a unique contribution in its use of an extensive EBP evaluation model to examine 33 single‐subject studies across 13 peer‐reviewed journals, a 12‐year period, and a wide range of grouping variables. Using the Mayton, Wheeler, Menendez and Zhang (2010) EBP evaluation protocol, studies were investigated in terms of eight quality indicators comprised 23 operationally defined standards. Studies included in this analysis met the following criteria: (1) they were intervention studies using single‐subject research designs; (2) they included only participants with disorders on the autism spectrum; and (3) the primary intervention was the use of a Social Story. Findings included on‐ or above‐standard acceptability in EBP indicators related to important aspects of dependent variables within studies and below‐standard acceptability in indicators related to both internal and external validity of studies.     

Emotion in online college classrooms: examining the influence of perceived teacher communication behaviour on students’ emotional experiences

This research focused on teacher communication behaviour as an influential factor in students’ educational experiences. This study examined students’ perceptions of emotion (involving teachers’ emotional support, students’ emotional work and students’ positive emotional valence toward class and teacher) as influenced by a variety of predicting variables: perceptions of teacher affinity-seeking as well as teachers’ positive behaviour alteration techniques, verbal immediacy and teacher online presence (involving the three factors of instructional design, organisation facilitating discourse and direct instruction). Relying on survey data collected from undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines enrolled in course offerings at a large public university, quantitative analysis examined relationships among existing factors previously studied in educational and communication research. Although this study uncovered multiple significant relationships between variables in the data set, students’ perceptions of their teachers’ verbal immediacy and presence in their instructional design were found to be most predictive relative to students’ emotions in online classrooms. Ultimately this project addresses and emphasises the need to more fully examine students’ emotions and related social experiences with virtual teachers and course content in higher education.     

eStatement Studies: A Reliable Database for Financial Benchmarks

ABSTRACT

2000/01 FOOD AND BEVERAGE MARKET PLACE, 5th ed. Lakeville, CT: Grey House Publishing, 2000, 1626 pp., $225.00, ISBN 1-891482-47-5. Online at: <http://www.greyhouse.com/> $445.00/yr.

2000/01 FOOD AND BEVERAGE MARKET PLACE SUPPLIERS GUIDE, 2nd ed. Lakeville, CT: Grey House Publishing, 973pp., $225.00, ISBN 1-891482-34-3. Online at: <http://www.greyhouse.com/> US $445.00/yr. Reviewed by Hal P. Kirkwood.

THE BEST OF TIMES: A PERSONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL ODYSSEY. Wasserman, Paul. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc, 2000, 458 pp., $35.00, ISBN 0-7808-0433-3. Reviewed by Alexius E. Macklin.

THE DIRECTORY OF BUSINESS INFORMATION RESOURCES, 9th ed. Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, Inc., 2001, 1,800 pp., Softcover $230.00 ISBN 1-891482-98-X, Hardcover $255.00, ISBN 1-891482-99-8. Reviewed by Judith M. Nixon.

E-BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY FORECAST. PricewaterhouseCoopers Technology Center: PricewaterhouseCoopers, 1999,240 pp., US$ 300.00, ISBN 1-891865-02-1. Reviewed by James Galbraith.

GUIDE TO BUSINESS INFORMATION ON CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE. Konn, Tania. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000. 235 pp., US $60.00, ISBN 1-57958-263-X. Reviewed by Hazel Cameron.

TECHNOLOGY FORECAST: 2000. PricewaterhouseCoopers Technology Center: PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2000, 774 pp. (a CD-Rom is included), US$ 450.00, ISBN 1-891865-03-x. Reviewed by James Galbraith.

STATISTICAL HANDBOOK ON CONSUMPTION AND WEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES. Kaul, Chandrika and Valerie Tomaselli-Moschovitis, editors. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1999, 312 pp., $65.00, 1-57356-251-3. Reviewed by Judith M. Nixon.

NEW EDITIONS OF STANDARD REFERENCE WORKS: ORGANIZATION CHARTS, 3rd Edition. Nick Sternberg and Scott Heil, Editors. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000, 353 pp., $165.00, ISBN: 0-7876-2452-7, ISSN 1526-0879. Reviewed by Judith M. Nixon.     

Owning Your Emotions: Reactions to Expressions of Self- versus Other-Attributed Positive and Negative Emotions

This investigation tested the notion that speakers should own their emotions by using I-messages rather than You-messages when conveying their feelings. In Study 1, hypothetical self-attributed (I) emotion messages were compared to other-attributed (You) messages, with an I-You message added in Study 2. In both studies, the effect of both positive and negative emotion statements on perceived politeness, effectiveness, and emotional reactions were assessed. No differences were found in reactions to the message forms for negative emotions, but both studies provided evidence for differences in respondents' reaction to positive emotional expressions. These results suggest a self-serving bias; recipients do not distinguish between ways of phrasing negative emotions expressed to them, but apparently appreciate being given credit for speakers' positive emotions. Implications for therapists, communication consultants, and practitioners are discussed.