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Parents have long been concerned with the transition to adulthood of their children with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) particularly with financial issues. The purpose of this study was to explore the financial concerns of mothers of adults with IDD. Five mothers of adults with IDD participated in a focus group to share their experiences, opinions, concerns, and challenges related to finances. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis: (a) job-related difficulties, (b) living expenses, (c) access to essential services, (d), skills deficits and/or challenging behavior, and (e) long-term care. Mothers in general indicated tremendous financial burdens, loss of income, and expressed concerns about long-term care of their children with IDD. These themes are discussed and implications for practice and research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Organised cervical screening programmes are a combination of arrangements designed to maximise benefit and minimise harm associated with cervical cancer at the population level. Many organised programmes are described as 'evidence-based', reflecting an expectation that healthcare should be based on the tenets of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). EBM is both normalised and contested. Aims and objectives: As part of a larger study of how cervical screening came to be the way it is, we conducted a grounded theory study of cervical screening experts' perspectives on evidence and its use in guideline development processes. Methods: We sampled from several countries and across a range of professional backgrounds. Analysis was developed through transcript coding and memo writing, using constant comparison to develop insight and connections between concepts. Findings: We found that the 'evidence-based' descriptor was used rhetorically to indicate scientific trustworthiness; in short 'evidence-based' indicated 'good'. Experts held ideal conceptions of evidence and its use as objective and value-free, yet reported experiences that suggested those ideals were unattainable in practice. The 'evidence-based' ideal included restricting what counts as evidence to matters of science and epidemiology. This produced pronounced attention to matters of efficacy and effectiveness of cervical screening tests, and neglected decisions relating to the other arrangements that combine to produce an organised screening programme. Discussion and conclusions: Rhetorical use of the 'evidence-based brand' appeals to a particular kind of authority: one which is difficult to achieve in practice, and belies the variety of information that is required and the socially negotiated nature of policy and programme decisions.

The goal of this study was to investigate if there is gender bias in student evaluations. Researchers administered a modified version of the teacher evaluation forms to 58 students (male = 30; female = 28) in a basic introductory communications class. Half the class was instructed to fill out the survey about a male professor, and the other half a female professor. Researchers broke down the evaluation results question by question in order to give a detailed account of the findings. Results revealed that there is certainly some gender bias at work when students evaluate their instructors. It was also found that gender bias does not significantly affect the evaluations. The results align with other findings in the available literature, which point to some sort of pattern regarding gender bias in evaluations, but it still seems to be inconsequential.

This study examined the specific interpersonal communication styles and behaviors of advisors and the expectations they have on their advisee's level of satisfaction, as well as what characteristics lead to higher relational satisfaction in the advisor-advisee relationship. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling were utilized to obtain participants for this study. Three hundred and ninety-seven college students voluntarily completed a survey on their current advisor. The instruments used relied on the Sociocommunicative Style Scale created by Richmond and McCroskey (1985), and on the Relational Satisfaction Scale created by Beatty and Dobos (1992). Results revealed that there is a significant relationship between sociocommunicative style and relationship satisfaction. The authors note as study limitations the lack of qualitative data, the randomness of the sample, and the large proportion of female participants that resulted from the random sample. The authors conclude that by further studying variables within the advisee-advisor relationship, advisors can learn how to communicate better in order to have a satisfying and beneficial relationship with their advisees. Additionally, advisees can learn what to expect from advisement and how to attain satisfying relationships with their advisors.