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This review explores the applications of density functional theory (DFT) in materials design and how DFT has revolutionized materials discovery for various fields, including drug delivery, energy storage, and spacecraft coatings. The science mapping analysis identifies research trends, and the dominant countries leading the development of new materials for future advancements are reviewed. Fluorescent and localized materials for cancer treatment, thin films for energy storage, catalysts, and materials resistant to spacecraft, efficient energy storage, powerful catalysts, and more reliable spacecraft coatings for future exploration and research are discussed. We found that the strongest research growth was mainly demonstrated by the United States due to its research capabilities, funding, active collaboration, and emphasis on innovation in the design of new materials for various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies evaluating the effectiveness of using telehealth to train caregivers across large geographical distances in the United States and internationally indicate that this modality can increase families' accessibility to evidence-based interventions for problem behavior. In this study, experimenters and interpreters in the United States remotely coached nine caregivers of children with disabilities residing in three countries in Asia to implement functional analyses (FA) and functional communication training (FCT). Five of the nine families were culturally matched to either the experimenter or the interpreter. Problem behavior was reduced to near-zero levels for all but one participant. Furthermore, all caregivers implemented the procedures with high levels of integrity and rated the assessment and treatment as highly acceptable, regardless of cultural matching or use of interpreters. Overall, findings suggest telehealth-based caregiver coaching and caregiver-implemented FA plus FCT is feasible and acceptable in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional data analysis plays an increasingly important role in medical research because patients are followed over time. Thus, the measurements of a particular biomarker for each patient are often registered as curves. Hence, it is of interest to estimate the mean function under certain conditions as an average of the observed functional data over a given period. However, this is often difficult as this type of follow-up studies are confronted with the challenge of some individuals dropping-out before study completion. Therefore, for these individuals, only a partial functional observation is available. In this study, we propose an estimator for the functional mean when the functions may be censored from the right, and thus, only partly observed. Unlike sparse functional data, the censored curves are observed until some (random) time and this censoring time may depend on the trajectory of the functional observations. Our approach is model-free and fully nonparametric, although the proposed methods can also be incorporated into regression models. The use of the functional structure of the data distinguishes our approach from the longitudinal data approaches. In addition, in this study, we propose a bootstrap-based confidence band for the mean function, examine the estimation of the covariance function, and apply our new approach to functional principal component analysis. Employing an extensive simulation study, we demonstrate that our method outperforms the only two existing approaches. Furthermore, we apply our new estimator to a real data example on lung growth, measured by changes in pulmonary function for girls in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying disease progression through enhanced decision support tools is key to chronic management in cystic fibrosis at both the patient and care center level. Rapid decline in lung function relative to patient level and center norms is an important predictor of outcomes. Our objectives were to construct and utilize center-level classification of rapid decliners to develop an animated dashboard for comparisons within patients over time, multiple patients within centers, or between centers. A functional data analysis technique known as functional principal components analysis was applied to lung function trajectories from 18,387 patients across 247 accredited centers followed through the United States Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry, in order to cluster patients into rapid decline phenotypes. Smaller centers (<30 patients) had older patients with lower baseline lung function and less severe rates of decline and had maximal decline later, compared to medium (30–150 patients) or large (>150 patients) centers. Small centers also had the lowest prevalence of early rapid decliners (17.7%, versus 24% and 25.7% for medium and large centers, resp.). The animated functional data analysis dashboard illustrated clustering and center-specific summaries of the rapid decline phenotypes. Clinical scenarios and utility of the center-level functional principal components analysis (FPCA) approach are considered and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on what family law counsel needs to know about performing a functional analysis within the context of a marital estate valuation. It discusses Organization considerations under which the type of entity includes description of corporate governance, Entity ownership documents, Description of product manufacturing or services production procedure and description of product warehousing and in-process services storage and Description of treasury.

Situated in an increasingly hostile political climate toward traditionally marginalized individuals, including those with Latinx identity, our study uses systemic functional linguistics to examine language choices authors make in regards to conflict and contention between Latinxs and the United States across three different 11th-grade U.S. history textbooks. Our study reveals how the language choices authors make portray Latinx people, communities, and nation-states in passive and subservient roles while representing the United States as a domineering and influential power. We offer implications for how preservice and in-service teachers can support their students to engage in critical readings of textbooks using systemic functional linguistics to resist narratives of dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A proportion of children and adults in Canada are identified as having an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD). Moreover, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Canadian children has increased substantially over the past decade. Research has shown that these populations have a greater likelihood to engage in severe destructive behavior such as self‐injury and aggression, which places them at risk for exposure to intrusive interventions and denial of services. Functional behavior assessment (FBA) is an assessment strategy that takes the environmental variables responsible for the development and maintenance of destructive behavior into consideration and has shown to be the most informative for developing effective treatments for destructive behavior. We conducted a nation‐wide survey that queried behavior‐analyst practitioners working in the I/DD and ASD service sectors about their beliefs and use of FBA in clinical practice. We compared the results of this survey with similar surveys conducted in the United States. The results indicated that most Canadian practitioners are conducting some type of FBA; however, many of these assessments are not comprehensive and missing important components of the assessment process. We discuss the implications of these findings, as well as the barriers to implementing FBA in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of diversity in organizations has been widely discussed in recent decades; nevertheless, both theoretical perspectives and empirical results appear conflicting and inconsistent. Scholars identify many possible reasons such as the definition of diversity, theoretical perspectives, variables, and methodological approaches; this study focuses on the methodological issue of assessing variety. To evaluate the role of diversity, most studies adopt static approaches and refer to the classical univariate indices; this research shows their limitations and stresses the importance of treating diversity with a multivariate dynamic approach. Taking advantage of functional data analysis and some recent ecological studies, this dual gap of the organizational literature is addressed by proposing a new methodological approach for measuring and monitoring diversity in organizations. We illustrate an application of this method by using a real dataset concerning the workforce diversity of the "Corporation For National And Community Service Overview" within the project "Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP)" of the Government of the United States of America. The goal of this research is to provide human resources specialists, policy makers, and scholars with additional techniques to improve the understanding of the dynamics of workforce diversity and minority employment within organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching parents to conduct functional analyses and to implement functional communication training is an efficacious approach for treating socially maintained problem behavior (Derby et al., 1997). Research has found that delivering this assessment and intervention package via telehealth technologies is efficient and acceptable to caregivers in the United States (Wacker et al., 2013b). We replicated this work with families residing in rural and urban areas of eight countries. Two behavior therapists located in the United States conducted appointments in the participants' native languages, using interpreters as needed. Parent‐implemented functional analyses and treatment with functional communication training were highly effective in reducing problem behavior in children diagnosed with autism. Furthermore, parents rated the procedures as acceptable and indicated that the treatment would be effective with their children. These findings indicate that telehealth technologies are a viable option for clinicians to provide behavior analysis services to families around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are potent neurotoxins and are the causative agent of botulism, as well as valuable pharmaceuticals. BoNTs are divided into seven serotypes that comprise over 40 reported subtypes. BoNT/A1 and BoNT/B1 are currently the only subtypes approved for pharmaceutical use in the USA. While several other BoNT subtypes including BoNT/A2 and/A6 have been proposed as promising pharmaceuticals, detailed characterization using in vivo assays are essential to determine their pharmaceutical characteristics compared to the currently used BoNT/A1 and/B1. Several methods for studying BoNTs in mice are being used, but no objective and quantitative assay for assessment of functional outcomes after injection has been described. Here we describe the use of CatWalk XT as a new analytical tool for the objective and quantitative analysis of the paralytic effect after local intramuscular injection of BoNT subtypes A1, A2, A6, and B1. Catwalk is a sophisticated gait and locomotion analysis system that quantitatively analyzes a rodent's paw print dimensions and footfall patterns while traversing a glass plate during unforced walk. Significant changes were observed in several gait parameters in mice after local intramuscular injection of all tested BoNT subtypes, however, no changes were observed in mice injected intraperitoneally with the same BoNTs. While a clear difference in time to peak paralysis was observed between BoNT/A1 and/B1, injection of all four toxins resulted in a deficit in the injected limb with the other limbs functionally compensating and with no qualitative differences between the four BoNT subtypes. The presented data demonstrate the utility of CatWalk as a tool for functional outcomes after local BoNT injection through its ability to collect large amounts of quantitative data and objectively analyze sensitive changes in static and dynamic gait parameters. • CatWalk quantitatively determined functional changes in mice injected locally with BoNT/A1,/A2,/A6, or/B1. • Injection of BoNTs A1, A2, A6, and B1 resulted in a similar overall pattern of static and dynamic paw functions. • BoNT/A2 and/A6 appeared to have less distal effects than BoNT/A1 and/B1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy in the United States. Mounting microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in various cancers including CRC. Materials and methods: The levels of microRNA-143-3p (miR-143-3p) and catenin-δ1 (CTNND1) were determined by RT-qPCR assay. Cell proliferative ability was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Cell migratory and invasive capacities were measured by transwell migration and invasion assay. Luciferase reporter assay was conducted to explore whether miR-143-3p could bind with CTNND1 3'UTR. CTNND1 protein level was determined through Western blot assay. Mouse xenograft models of CRC were established to test the functions and molecular basis of miR-143-3p in the development of CRC in vivo. Results: Low amounts of miR-143-3p were expressed in CRC tissues and cells. Functional analysis revealed that miR-143-3p overexpression suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion in CRC. Molecular mechanism exploration indicated that miR-143-3p directly targeted CTNND1. Moreover, enforced expression of CTNND1 contributed to cell proliferation, migration and invasion in CRC, and CTNND1 silencing exerted opposite effects. Restoration experiments disclosed that CTNND1 upregulation weakened the inhibitory effects of miR-143-3p on CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Additionally, miR-143-3p inhibited the growth of HCT116-derived xenograft tumors by targeting CTNND1 in vivo. Conclusion: miR-143-3p hampered the development and progression of CRC by targeting CTNND1 in vitro and in vivo, deepening our understanding of the functions and molecular basis of miR-143-3p in the tumorigenesis of CRC and providing some candidate prognostic markers or therapeutic targets for CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its wide distribution across the world, the snail Radix auricularia plays a central role in the transferal of energy and biomass by consuming plant biomass in freshwater systems. The gut microbiota are involved in the nutrition, digestion, immunity, and development of snails, particularly for cellulolytic bacteria, which greatly contribute to the digestion of plant fiber. For the first time, this study characterized the gut bacterial communities of R. auricularia, as well as predicted functions, using the Illumina Miseq platform to sequence 16S rRNA amplicons. Both juvenile snails (JS) and adult snails (AS) were sampled. The obtained 251,072 sequences were rarefied to 214,584 sequences and clustered into 1,196 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with 97% sequence identity. The predominant phyla were Proteobacteria (JS: 36.0%, AS: 31.6%) and Cyanobacteria (JS: 16.3%, AS: 19.5%), followed by Chloroflexi (JS: 9.7%, AS: 13.1%), Firmicutes (JS: 14.4%, AS: 6.7%), Actinobacteria (JS: 8.2%, AS: 12.6%), and Tenericutes (JS: 7.3%, AS: 6.2%). The phylum Cyanobacteria may have originated from the plant diet instead of the gut microbiome. A total of 52 bacterial families and 55 genera were found with >1% abundance in at least one sample. A large number of species could not be successfully identified, which could indicate the detection of novel ribotypes or result from insufficient availability of snail microbiome data. The core microbiome consisted of 469 OTUs, representing 88.4% of all sequences. Furthermore, the predicted function of bacterial community of R. auricularia performed by Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States suggests that functions related to metabolism and environmental information processing were enriched. The abundance of carbohydrate suggests a strong capability of the gut microbiome to digest lignin. Our results indicate an abundance of bacteria in both JS and AS, and thus the bacteria in R. auricularia gut form a promising source for novel enzymes, such as cellulolytic enzymes, that may be useful for biofuel production. Furthermore, searching for xenobiotic biodegradation bacteria may be a further important application of these snails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike potential tangible positive reinforcers, which are typically identified for inclusion in functional analyses empirically using preference assessments, demands are most often selected arbitrarily or based on caregiver report. The present study evaluated the use of a demand assessment with 12 participants who exhibited escape-maintained problem behavior. Participants were exposed to 10 demands, with aversiveness measured by average latency to the first instance of problem behavior. In subsequent functional analyses, results of a demand condition that included the demand with the shortest latency to problem behavior resulted in identification of an escape function for 11 of the participants. In contrast, a demand condition that included the demand with the longest latency resulted in identification of an escape function for only 5 participants. The implication of these findings is that for the remaining 7 participants, selection of the demand for the functional analysis without using the results of the demand assessment could have produced a false-negative finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although decades of research on functional analysis methodology have identified common contingencies that maintain problem behavior and effective interventions, relatively little research has been conducted on strategies to prevent the initial development of problem behavior. We conducted a 2-part case study, the purposes of which were to illustrate the use of sensitivity tests as the bases for intervention (Study 1) and subsequently to assess the efficacy of a prevention strategy using a single-subject design (Study 2). Results showed that the sensitivity tests identified establishing operations that may set the occasion for the development of problem behavior and that interventions based on differential reinforcement prevented increases in the severity of problem behavior relative to untreated and control baselines. Benefits and limitations to this individualized approach to prevention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that physical inactivity is prevalent among young children. To combat this, one recommendation for caregivers is to become actively involved in their child's physical activities. However, this general recommendation does not specify how or when a parent should become involved. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a functional analysis to identify a social consequence that would increase the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( MVPA) exhibited by preschool-aged children, and then to compare the effects of that social consequence when it was provided contingent on MVPA and when provided independent of MVPA. The results of the functional analyses indicated that 3 of 7 children were most active when attention or interactive play was provided contingent on MVPA. Results of the intervention analysis suggested that caregivers of young children should provide attention or interactive play contingent on MVPA when those consequences are identified as reinforcers in a functional analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the functional theory of campaign discourse to determine whether differences exist in the purpose and content of 75 web-only video ads and 742 television ads created by candidates and national parties during the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Web-only ads were more likely to include attack themes than TV ads, and TV ads were more likely to include acclaim themes than web-only ads. Ads differed little in their use of news-mediated evidence to bolster ad claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes functional median polish, an extension of univariate median polish, for one-way and two-way functional analysis of variance (ANOVA). The functional median polish estimates the functional grand effect and functional main factor effects based on functional medians in an additive functional ANOVA model assuming no interaction among factors. A functional rank test is used to assess whether the functional main factor effects are significant. The robustness of the functional median polish is demonstrated by comparing its performance with the traditional functional ANOVA fitted by means under different outlier models in simulation studies. The functional median polish is illustrated on various applications in climate science, including one-way and two-way ANOVA when functional data are either curves or images. Specifically, Canadian temperature data, U.S. precipitation observations and outputs of global and regional climate models are considered, which can facilitate the research on the close link between local climate and the occurrence or severity of some diseases and other threats to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Copula Contagion Index (CCI) is established to measure financial contagion, based on the time-varying copula function. Empirical studies performed on the crisis spillover of US Subprime Mortgage Crisis demonstrate the efficiency of CCI. The empirical results from event study, change-point analysis, logitistic/probit regressions and the detection of the lead–lag relations by Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner (BEKK)-Vector Autoregressive (VAR)-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic (GARCH) model show that, the index is efficient in detecting the financial contagions. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the index is robust. Besides, empirical results indicate that the developed markets rather than the emerging markets suffered more severely and quickly from the US subprime mortgage crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the entire period of the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, different types of countries showed different characteristics on their economic development process. Comparing the economic development process between different types of countries contributes a lot to get an in-depth understanding of the different impacts of the crisis on national economy. In this paper, the method of Functional Analysis of Variance (FANOVA) is applied to make a comparative study on the economic development process of different types of countries, including the differences on the economic growth rate, the time of the economy recession, the extent of the recession and the recovery situation of the economy. Moreover, the paper performs a dynamic test on the significance of the difference on the economic growth rate during the whole stage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Public relations practitioners from the U.S. and South Korea identified preferred leadership styles in routine and non-routine situations. Results of discriminant function analysis suggested that U.S. professionals place greater importance on strategic communication or problem-solving activities than do Korean practitioners. Public relations practitioners prefer leadership characteristics and functions associated with practical and resourceful capabilities in non-routine situations. This preference is most obvious among Korean public relations practitioners. Findings are best explained by cultural and situational contingency perspective of public relations leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local linear method is popular in estimating nonparametric continuous-time diffusion models, but it may produce negative results for the diffusion (or volatility) functions and thus lead to insensible inference. We demonstrate this using U.S. interest rate data. We propose a new functional estimation method of the diffusion coefficient based on reweighting the conventional Nadaraya-Watson estimator. It preserves the appealing bias properties of the local linear estimator and is guaranteed to be nonnegative in finite samples. A limit theory is developed under mild requirements (recurrence) of the data generating mechanism without assuming stationarity or ergodicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legal framework governing the transnational investment process may be characterised as being fragmented and loosely governed by bilateral or regional investment treaties, with the result that foreign investors receive unsatisfactory protection and host States fear that their regulatory competence will be challenged. This article attempts to illustrate the utility of the New Haven School of Jurisprudence in the study of the transnational investment process by applying a functional analysis to elaborate on some of the salient features of that process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional analysis has been used to design a common aircraft to replace the U.S. Air Force F-16s, Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18s, and Marine AV-8s. The technical and program challenges involved in developing a common aircraft for all three services were met by designing three highly common, but not identical, variants of the same aircraft. The key elements of this commonality are an innovative propulsion system that can be switched from a turbofan cycle for conventional flight to a turboshaft cycle for vertical takeoff and landing and a basic structural arrangement that can accommodate the substitution of stronger parts in the Naval variant to absorb the greater takeoff and landing loads of carrier operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates American puts on a dividend-paying underlying whose volatility is a function of both time and underlying asset price. The asymptotic behaviour of the critical price near expiry is deduced by means of singular perturbation methods. It turns out that if the underlying dividend is greater than the risk-free interest rate, the behaviour of the critical price is parabolic, otherwise an extra logarithmic factor appears, which is similar to the constant volatility case. The results of this paper complement numerical approaches used to calculate the option values and the optimal exercise price at times that are not close to expiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 are watershed events in America's political development. At that point, Senators were selected by state legislatures citizens could not vote directly for their Senators. Still, these debates were well attended public events. Existing analyses (e.g., Jaffa, 1982; Zarefsky, 1990) have examined the issues (e.g., slavery and federalism); this essay has a more modest goal of comparing these messages with more recent Senate debates. Douglas, the incumbent, attacked more and acclaimed less than Lincoln, the challenger. Lincoln (who was the target of more attacks) produced more defenses than Douglas. The candidates' discourse was divided about evenly between policy and character. When discussing policy, they most frequently used general goals, followed by past deeds and then future plans. Character utterances were comprised of those about personal qualities, followed by ideals and, rarely, leadership ability. Comparisons revealed the Lincoln-Douglas debates to be more negative, with more emphasis on character (and less on policy) than recent Senate debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study investigated the relationship between body image and clothing, as expressed by 16 elite level gay male athletes from the United States, Canada, and Australia. The athletes suggested that within gay social settings, clothes serve as a means to gauge other men's personalities and relative wealth, and as a means to display one's body. Clothes were viewed as being a functional accessory to assist sporting performance, regardless of the appearance of that attire. However, within aesthetic sports, the function of clothing may be to look good, so as to earn high marks from judges. Finally, the athletes suggested that cultural expectations of masculinity may negate the need for stylish clothing, and that masculinity often requires men to wear muted clothing styles. These findings indicate that clothing should be considered as a factor that influences body image, and that not all sub-groups of gay men may consider clothing or body image in an identical manner. Future implications for body image and sexualities research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major acts of terrorism, like all public crises, instigate patterns of information seeking among the general public. These patterns of information seeking are consistent with previous research in social psychology, suggesting that in times of great fear, confusion or uncertainty, there is a fundamental need to acquire information that may be useful in restoring some sense of normality. Using survey data collected in three major American cities, the current study sought to examine whether or not this type of uncertainty reduction process occurred in the days following September 11. In addition to exploring the relationship between media use and uncertainty reduction, additional analyses explored the perceived usefulness of the news media in alleviating stress, and differences in these responses between men and women. The results do not support the predicted relationship between media use and uncertainty reduction; however differences between the sexes emerged in both response patterns and media preferences. The findings are discussed in terms of Media Dependency Theory, the functional role of the news media during terrorist events, and implications for crisis control officials in terms of message design and placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is one of the U.S. National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research. Primary interests of the HMP include the distinctiveness of different gut microbiomes, the factors influencing microbiome diversity, and the functional redundancies of the members of human microbiotas. In this present work, we contribute to these interests by characterizing two extinct human microbiotas. Methodology/Principal Findings: We examine two paleofecal samples originating from cave deposits in Durango Mexico and dating to approximately 1300 years ago. Contamination control is a serious issue in ancient DNA research; we use a novel approach to control contamination. After we determined that each sample originated from a different human, we generated 45 thousand shotgun DNA sequencing reads. The phylotyping and functional analysis of these reads reveals a signature consistent with the modern gut ecology. Interestingly, inter-individual variability for phenotypes but not functional pathways was observed. The two ancient samples have more similar functional profiles to each other than to a recently published profile for modern humans. This similarity could not be explained by a chance sampling of the databases. Conclusions/Significance: We conduct a phylotyping and functional analysis of ancient human microbiomes, while providing novel methods to control for DNA contamination and novel hypotheses about past microbiome biogeography. We postulate that natural selection has more of an influence on microbiome functional profiles than it does on the species represented in the microbial ecology. We propose that human microbiomes were more geographically structured during pre-Columbian times than today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of functional behavior assessment (FBA) to guide the development of behavior intervention plans continues to increase since they were first mandated in IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, 20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq, 1997). A variety of indirect and direct instruments have been developed to facilitate this process. Although many researchers believe that a full functional analysis is necessary to identify the function of a behavior, more rapid and efficient FBA procedures are more commonly used. This investigation examined the correspondence between indirect and direct FBA procedures. Specifically, the results of three descriptive assessments and a functional analysis for four young children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders were compared. Separation of all descriptive and experimental results was maintained and the assessment order was counterbalanced. Results of the descriptive assessments had low consistency with each other, and the results of two indirect FBA assessments (the Functional Assessment Interview and Motivation Assessment Scale) had low agreement with the results of functional analyses. On the other hand, the direct assessment procedure (ABC assessment) agreed with the results of functional analyses for all participants. These results support the use of direct observations and indicate that indirect measures should be used with caution as stand-alone assessments of the function of challenging behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extended previous research on the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse to investigate the nature of 21 U.S. Senate campaign debates and 15 gubernatorial debates from 1994 to 2006. Acclaims were more common than attacks or defenses in Senate (56%, 30%, 14%) and gubernatorial (68%, 30%, 2%) debates. Challengers attacked more and acclaimed less than incumbents in both groups of debates. Senate and gubernatorial incumbents used past deeds much more to acclaim than attack; challengers were prone to use past deeds to attack more than acclaim. There was no consistent effect of political party on functions of debates. The candidates focused more attention on policy than character in Senate (70%, 30%) and gubernatorial debates (73%, 27%). There was no difference in topics stressed by Democrats and Republicans, or incumbents and challengers, in either set of debates. These results are generally consistent with the findings from prior analyses of presidential debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act mandates the performance of functional assessment for students with severe behavior problems. A functional analysis can be one part of this process but its use has been minimal. This study evaluates whether a paraprofessional could (a) be trained to correctly perform 3 conditions of a functional analysis with a student with severe behavior problems, and (b) be trained to correctly implement a function-based intervention. Procedures included an interview and descriptive assessment; training on performing a functional analysis; a functional analysis; a second descriptive assessment; and a function-based intervention. The results indicate it is possible to train a paraprofessional to accurately perform 3 conditions of a functional analysis, and then correctly implement a function-based intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) correctly identifies maintaining variables of challenging behaviour. However, for adults who have a long history of challenging behaviours, identifying one clear function of the maladaptive behaviour is difficult. Additionally, the person may develop multiple functions of their maladaptive behaviour. Method Characteristics of single versus multiple maintaining factors were evaluated using the QABF for 88 adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). The reliability of single versus multiple maintaining factors for aggression and self-injurious behaviour was analysed. Multiple factors were analysed in terms of type of maintaining factors, and their order of importance by challenging behaviour was noted. Results The majority of behaviours examined were maintained by multiple functions. Reliability was higher for behaviours with a single maintaining variable when compared to behaviours with multiple maintaining variables. Conclusion These data appear to have implications for aetiology, assessment, and treatment of challenging behaviours in individuals with ID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congressional elections are crucial to the American political system and candidates spend millions of dollars seeking votes with television spots. Unfortunately, the literature in this area is a hodgepodge of studies (with different methods and samples) rather than a comprehensive analysis of congressional television advertising. This study utilized the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse to content analyze 744 television spots for House and Senate candidates from 1980–2004. Candidate discourse in these spots employed acclaiming (positive) strategies much more frequently than attacking (negative) or defending (refutational) strategies. Unlike discourse in presidential campaigns, congressional TV spots tend to place equal emphasis on policy and character (although since 1992 the emphasis has been on policy). Democrats tend to attack more and to discuss policy more than their counterparts. Incumbents acclaimed more and attacked less than challengers, whereas open-seat candidates have a style that lies between these two extremes. Open-seat candidates discuss past deeds less frequently than incumbents or challengers, both of whom tend to rely on the incumbent's record to attack (challengers) or to acclaim (incumbents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution we propose a two-step simulation procedure that enables to compute the exercise features of American options and analyze the properties of the optimal exercise times and exercise probabilities. The first step of the procedure is based on the calculation of an accurate approximation of the optimal exercise boundary. In particular, we use a smoothed binomial method which effectively reduces the fluctuating behavior of a discrete boundary. In the second step the boundary is used to define a stopping rule which is embodied in a Monte Carlo simulation method. A broad experimental analysis is carried out in order to test the procedure and study the behavior of the exercise features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes steps in developing a behavioral intervention plan based on a functional analysis of behavior for children with emotional and behavioral problems in the United States. Identification of taget behaviors; Observation of the student in the identified setting; Peer comparison; Function of behaviors. INSET: Functional Assessment of Behavior in IDEA Amendments of 1997.

Based on a derivation of the asymptotic sampling distribution of the generalized entropy mobility measures, this paper provides a statistically rigorous analysis of income mobility in Germany and the United States using the panel data set PSID-SOEP equivalent data file. Several alternative measures of income aggregation, inequality measures, and groupings are considered to establish robustness. We find that, to a high degree of statistical confidence, post-government income mobility is much higher in Germany. Possible reasons for these findings are revealed through disaggregation of the samples by population subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the functional analysis checklist (FAC) on behavior therapy programs in the United States. Evaluation of sample of target behaviors from individuals in state school programs; Reliability of FAC; Lack of training in functional assessment of raters on rates of behavioral problems.

Functional analysis, a variation of the time study technique, was used to examine how HIV/AIDS case managers in the tri-county region of New York State spend their time--the actual tasks and activities they choose to perform relative to the total universe of activities and tasks subsumed in the general category of case management. The picture developed was of a system operating primarily in a crisis mode, spending relatively brief amounts of time completing a range of activities and providing an extensive scope of services for or on behalf of clients. The bulk of the work was client centered, not administrative, and involved providing disease management and essential services (e.g., family and mental health). The implications of these findings are discussed, with particular attention paid to the potential influence of client profiles and worker demographics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recommends the use of functional analysis to interpret the Constitution's grant of power to Congress under the Commerce Clause. Development of Commerce Clause; Expansive use of the Commerce Clause by Congress to nationalize crimes; Comparison of the Violence Against Women Act and certain criminal aspects of the Clean Water Act.

This article presents an approximate formula for pricing American options along the lines of MacMillan and Barone-Adesi and Whaley. It is as efficient as the existing analytical approximations, but remarkably more accurate. In particular, it yields good results for long-maturity options for which the other methods fare poorly. This approximation is also more accurate than the less efficient numerical methods such as the four-point extrapolation schemes of Geske and Johnson and Huang, Subrahmanyam, and Yu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional analysis concept design (FACD) is a method by which owners and designers can 'partner' during the design phase of projects. Much has been written and reported about partnering on construction projects, but little is available on the applications and results of FACD. While FACD has been mentioned in the literature to be a valuable tool, evidence on its effectiveness has been missing. Consequently, FACD has not hitherto emerged as a common management system used during design. Management processes on its implementation also had not been developed fully until the United States Navy carried out research, much involving tedious trials and revisions. This paper describes processes that have been found suitable. The economic benefits of FACD have never been directly evaluated, but by examining and testing the quantum of change orders on projects, this study finds that FACD is a viable method that can reduce construction costs overall. Whereas value engineering and constructability review are other common tools, FACD is distinct from them both. FACD is allied to functional analysis system technique (FAST); regulations, and specifications have been developed to implement FACD to ensure its success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real estate analysts have not had the tools to identify the functional problems of real estate because they have not focused on configuration. Space syntax is a way to represent, describe and evaluate spatial configurations or patterns created through building and urban design. Space syntax was used to systematically describe the configuration of a failed luxury shopping mall. Shape recognition techniques transform the plan into a mathematical network that can be analyzed. Network node parameters can be related to more traditional measures like occupancy and revenues by location. Thus revealed, the underlying spatial structure of the failed mall is compared to that of a similar but successful mall and its functional deficiencies identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many distributions have been used as descriptive models for the size distribution of income. This paper considers two generalized beta distributions which include many of these models as special or limiting cases. These generalized distributions have not been used as models for the distribution of income and provide a unified method of comparing many models previously considered. Expressions are reported which facilitate parameter estimation and the analysis of associated means, variances, and various measures of inequality. The distributions considered are fit to U.S. family income and their relative performance is compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses two general crime dimensions for analyzing crimes in U.S. states through the discriminant function analysis. It points to the temporal and spatial consistencies in crime pattern, social analysis on the irregular spatial distribution of crime and crime dimension based on Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) from 1970 to 1976. Analysis results indicated 94 percent of total variance of crime in the region as to the eiginvalue while the canonical correlation value indicated 66% in the violent crime function and 77% in the property function and Wilk's lambda gives the inverse measure of the discriminating power of the variables.

In this article we examine the general problem of choosing ii functional form for hedonic pricing models and develop a flexible functional form for amenity valuation using a generalized Box-Cox (1964) transformation. The flexible form approach leads to amenity value estimates with no prior restrictions on the hedonic relationship and permits likelihood ratio tests of more traditional functional forms. The consequences of restrictions on functional form are examined with the results from an hedonic analysis of water-related amenities. The paper proceeds as follows: first, the Rosen implicit market model is reviewed with primary consideration to functional form specification for amenity valuation; second, the Box-Cox functional form is described and its usefulness evaluated using maximum likelihood estimation, likelihood ratio tests, and the resulting amenity values from alternative functional forms; and, finally, the research and policy implications of functional form specification for amenity valuation are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--We test for the presence of a "worker discipline effect," wherein macroeconomic conditions influence worker effort, and we examine inter-industry variation in its strength. An employment function analysis is first used to find evidence of a worker discipline effect in the majority of U.S. 3-digit manufacturing industries. A factor analysis of industry firm and labor market characteristics is then used to identify several underlying factors by which industries can be distinguished. We find that the strength of the worker discipline effect is positively and significantly correlated with the degree to which industries have "secondary" characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--When choosing a flexible functional form to model multi-output cost structures, one is quickly confronted with severe violations of certain regularity conditions over large regions of output space. This paper explicitly imposes regional properness on the parameter space of flexible functional forms. The apparent trade-off between functional flexibility and functional properness has been identified for the case of the quadratic cost function. Using the quadratic cost function, the proposed procedure is illustrated with an application to the Bell System. The results suggest that the telecommunication industry in the United States--prior to the Bell System break-up--was a natural monopoly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]