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There can be a tendency for investigators to disregard or explain away null or negative results in prevention science trials. Examples include not publicizing findings, conducting spurious subgroup analyses, or attributing the outcome post hoc to real or perceived weaknesses in trial design or intervention implementation. This is unhelpful for several reasons, not least that it skews the evidence base, contributes to research “waste”, undermines respect for science, and stifles creativity in intervention development. In this paper, we identify possible policy and practice responses when interventions have null (ineffective) or negative (harmful) results, and argue that these are influenced by: theinterventionitself (e.g., stage of gestation, perceived importance);trial design,conduct,and results(e.g., pattern of null/negative effects, internal and external validity);context(e.g., wider evidence base, state of policy); andindividual perspectives and interests(e.g., stake in the intervention). We advance several strategies to promote more informative null or negative effect trials and enable learning from such results, focusing on changes to culture, process, intervention design, trial design, and environment.

The strong force which binds hadrons is described by the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Determining the character and manifestations of QCD is one of the most important and challenging outstanding issues necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the structure of hadrons. Within the context of the QCD parton picture, the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) have been remarkably successful in describing a wide variety of processes. However, these PDFs have generally been confined to the description of collinear partons within the hadron. New experiments and facilities provide the opportunity to additionally explore the transverse structure of hadrons which is described by Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) and Transverse Momentum Dependent Parton Distribution Functions (TMD PDFs). In our previous review, we compared and contrasted the two main approaches used to determine the collinear PDFs: the first based on perturbative QCD factorization theorems, and the second based on lattice QCD calculations. In the present report, we provide an update of recent progress on the collinear PDFs, and also expand the scope to encompass the generalized PDFs (GPDs and TMD PDFs). We review the current state of the various calculations, and consider what new data might be available in the near future. We also examine how a shared effort can foster dialog between the PDF and Lattice QCD communities, and yield improvements for these generalized PDFs.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a therapeutic parenting program that targets parents of children aged 6 to 11 years identified as having behavioral and emotional difficulties. The intervention comprises two parts, delivered sequentially: a 10–12-week group-based program for all parents, and one-to-one sessions for up to 12 weeks with selected parents from the group-based element. Methods/Design: In a randomized controlled trial, 264 participants were allocated to the Inspiring Futures program (intervention) or services as usual (control) arms with follow-up assessments at 16 (post-group program) and 32 (post-one-to-one sessions) weeks. The primary outcome was the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Total Difficulties score at 32 weeks. Secondary outcomes included parent-rated SDQ subscales, parent coping strategies, empathy in parenting and parenting skills. Results: All 264 participants were included in outcome analyses. There was no statistically significant effect on SDQ Total Difficulties (standardized mean difference: −0.07; 95% CI: −0.30 to 0.16; p = 0.54). There were no sub-group effects. Only 1 of 40 comparisons between the trial arms for secondary outcomes across both follow-ups was statistically significant at the 5% level. The mean number of group sessions attended by intervention arm participants was 6.1 (out of 10 to 12) and only 1 in 20 intervention arm participants received one-to-one support. Independent observation indicated scope to improve fidelity in terms of adherence, quality and participant responsiveness. Conclusions: The intervention is not more effective than services as usual at improving targeted outcomes. This may be related, in part, to implementation issues but arguably more to the inability of a non-behavioral intervention to improve caregiving adequately, particularly when it is not targeted at new parents who have experienced trauma or deprivation early in life or subsequently.

Assessments of youth risk and protective factors (RPFs) for substance use, delinquency, and violence have been used by communities to identify priorities and target them with prevention interventions. These same RPFs may also predict other youth problems. This study examined the strength and consistency of relationships of 41 ecological RPFs that predict antisocial behavior and substance use with sexual behavior outcomes in a sample of 2150 urban youth in 10th and 12th grade. After adjusting for controls, findings identify significant associations among the majority of community, school, family, peer, and individual risk factors, and family, peer, and individual protective factors, with sexual behavior outcomes, specifying unique associations among multiple factors with risky sex relative to both safe sex and not being sexually active. Prevention programming that targets common predictors for multiple problems may address a broad array of outcomes, including sexual health risk behaviors.

The study, a two-arm, randomized controlled, parallel group, superiority trial, aimed to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a 12-month one-to-one volunteer mentoring program designed to improve behavioral and emotional outcomes in children aged 5 to 11 years who have teacher- and parent/carer-reported behavioral difficulties. Participants were 246 children (123 intervention, 123 control; mean age 8.4 years; 87% boys) in five sites in London, UK, scoring in the “abnormal” range on the teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Total Difficulties measure and in the “borderline” or abnormal range on the parent-rated SDQ Total Difficulties measure. Randomization on a 1:1 ratio took place using a computer-generated sequence and stratifying by site. Data collectors and statisticians were blind to participant allocation status. Outcome measures focused on parent- and teacher-rated child behavior and emotions, and child-rated self-perception and hope. Intention-to-treat analysis on all 246 randomized participants (using imputed data where necessary) showed that at post-intervention (16 months after randomization), there were no statistically significant effects on the primary outcome—parent-rated SDQ Total Difficulties (adjusted standardized mean difference = − 0.12; 95% CI: −0.38 to 0.13; p = 0.33)—or any secondary outcomes. Results from complier average causal effect (CACE) analysis using the primary outcome indicated the intervention was not effective for children who received the recommended duration of mentoring. Exploratory analyses found no sub-group effects on the primary outcome. The article concludes that the mentoring program had no effect on children’s behavior or emotional well-being, and that program content needs revising to satisfactorily address key risk and protective factors. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11121-020-01132-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Lots of child well-being data is collected but it is rarely exploited fully. In this article we set out the data that directors and service commissioners in children’s services need and methods to help them analyse it optimally. Using a case example we show how this will help with critical but complex tasks, such as choosing which outcomes to address, estimating realistic achievable change, designing services, and monitoring progress. We then discuss how to make the data work even harder, for example gathering well-being data on children in systems, improving the quality of service use information, and making data ‘live’ for practitioners via continuous feedback systems.

Local authorities are increasingly required to measure and monitor the well‐being of children. One key aspect of ensuring that these data on child well‐being are robust is that they form an accurate and representative picture of that child population. Rather than being only the purview of researchers, the act of gathering outcome data now falls within the remit of policymakers and practitioners. This article therefore describes the principles and importance of solid sampling methodologies to this audience and also considers the practical reasons as to why policymakers and practitioners may require larger samples than may be necessary for a representative picture of child well‐being. These ideas are illustrated by one local authority in the UK’s approach to measuring child well‐being, using representative sampling techniques and the subsequent expansion of this sample. The consequences of expanding the sample size are illustrated by examining the impact upon key findings related to child well‐being. The po...

The measurement of child well-being in the UK for needs-led service planning and outcome assessment has tended to be poor. This article sets out the broad results from the application of a new methodology to assess the health and development of children aged 0–18 in a large local authority in England. It discusses briefly how these data helped inform strategy development and service design in the local authority and how the approach might be enhanced.

Measuring child well-being is an important basis for planning needs-led children’s services and charting their impact on outcomes. The quality of this work in the UK varies widely and little of it gets used in policy and practice. This article examines an attempt to develop and implement a new instrument to address these problems. The setting is an urban local authority seeking to plan and develop services in the context of a renewed focus on outcomes and multi-agency working. The article describes the development and implementation of an epidemiological survey of child health and development outcomes with a sample of children selected to be representative of all children aged 0–18 in the city. It discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the approach and considers future challenges as regards conceptualising child well-being, enhancing participation in such surveys and exploiting the data that emerges.

The need for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to support evidence‐based services to improve outcomes for children is increasingly recognised by researchers and policy‐makers. However, this brings a pressing requirement to build research capacity for conducting RCTs and to address the concerns of practitioners who may be suspicious about the method. This article reviews a variety of texts on the subject, ranging from analyses of the historical and political context of RCTs, to concise introductions of the key methodological and practical issues, to more in‐depth discussions of complex designs and statistics. The article seeks to help readers navigate these resources by focusing on seven questions that seem particularly salient for those considering whether and how to commission, undertake, participate in or use results from RCTs.

Like most western developed countries, there have been inquiries in England and Wales from time to time into the deaths of children who have been under the watch of social services or other agencies. These cases have led to significant reforms and contributed in part to the Children Act 1989, landmark legislation that has defined the state's involvement in the lives of children in England and Wales. The case of Victoria Climbié was particularly distressing. Born in the Ivory Coast, Victoria died just over eight years later from 128 separate injuries after being bound hand and foot in plastic bags and placed in a cold bath in an unheated bathroom, where she lay in her own urine and faeces, able to eat only what she could by pressing her face into a plate put beside her. In the 10 months that Victoria lived in England, she was known to seven local government departments, three specialist child protection teams and two hospitals.Herbert Laming chaired the inquiry into her death. His report (Laming, 2003) has underpinned a major overhaul of children's services. Building on the 1989 legislation, the government's vision for children's services Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and the ensuing Children Act 2004 promise a highly integrated, outcome‐focused approach to all children in England and Wales. In this interview, Lord Laming deals with the problems that led to the death of Victoria Climbié, before covering the contribution of the new legislation and its implications for practitioners, local and central government, inspectors and researchers. He ends with some reflections on the development of children's services during his involvement over 40 years and in the future. What follows is an edited transcript of Lord Laming's comments.

Virtual teams, using existing telecommunications technology, are employed by government and industry to meet the changing needs of the new millennium. The use of virtual teams by business has become part of the new workplace phenomena. Despite their obvious potential, virtual communications in Special Education are limited to electronic mail, video-conferencing, and discussion forums. The use of virtual teams in field of education is largely unexplored. The following is a description of a web-based, virtual, problem-solving process used by teams of Special Educators to address problems encountered by first year teachers. Assessment by team participants indicates that an in vivo problem solving and collaboration process was successfully replicated as an online phenomenon and a representative case, illustrating the process, is presented. A web-site, titled The Conference Room, is proposed as a model for building electronic bridges between teacher preparation faculty and their graduates and for offering confidential consultation, support and mentoring for first year teachers.

The following paper presents content and outcomes of a model class for instructing general and special educators in best practices of inclusive education. Key components of the class were (a) an em...

Nine textbooks currently used in applied behavior analysis courses for future teachers of students with disabilities were examined to determine how the concepts of positive behavioral support were treated. The reviews were conducted using the four major training outcomes of positive behavioral support presented by Anderson, Albin, Mesaros, Dunlap, and Morelli-Robbins (1993) as a framework for analyzing the texts. It was found that although many of the concepts and practices of positive behavioral support were discussed in the texts, none promoted the approach as a holistic philosophy for intervening when challenging behaviors occur. The implications for preparing future teachers in this area are discussed.

Co-operative learning is widely accepted as a pedagogical practice that can be employed in classrooms to stimulate students' interest in learning through collaborative interaction with their peers. When children work co-operatively, they learn to listen to what others have to say, give and receive help and discuss different ideas, and in so doing, they learn to develop mutual understandings of the topic at hand. However, whilst co-operative learning provides opportunities for students to dialogue, concern has been expressed about the quality of the discourse that often emerges if students are left to engage in discussions without training in how to interact with others. This chapter discusses the teacher's role in promoting effective small-group discourse. It presents two studies of teachers' discourse during co-operative and small-group learning. These studies provide unique insights into how teachers can use language to promote collaborative dialogue in the classroom during co-operative learning.