Tag Archives: Michigan State University

Michigan State University, University of South Florida, St. John’s University, and American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) paper: The costs and benefits of addressing customer complaints

8 Aug

Guy Winch Ph.D. wrote in the Psychology Today article, Complaint Handling: Where Companies and Customers Both Fail: Why companies fail at complaint handling:

Consumers whose complaints are handled well by a company become loyal customers and spread positive word-of-mouth. Yet too many companies fail at complaint handling and then fail again in responding to these failures. Here’s why:

How Our Complaining Psychology Leads Customers Astray

When we are dissatisfied with a purchase or a service, the vast majority of us fail to complain to the company or business in question. We are convinced it will require too much time and effort to do so, that the process will be unpleasant and that if we did pursue our complaint, the company or business would be unlikely to resolve the problem to our satisfaction.

Instead, we are far more likely to switch to another company or business and to tell our tale of consumer disappointment to 10-20 of our nearest and dearest, hundreds of our Facebook friends or thousands of our Twitter followers, spreading terrible word-of-mouth about the company or business in question but failing to get a satisfactory resolution to our problem.

However, our fears are usually greatly exaggerated. In other words, voicing complaints to companies and businesses is usually far less laborious and annoying than we anticipate. This is especially so if we voice our complaint to someone with the authority to resolve the matter, such as the manager of a restaurant or a store, or an executive in a company. Call-center representatives are also likely to be more responsive if we approached them with civility and respect instead of holding them personally responsible for our problem.

And yet, each time we interact with a company that has terrible complaint handling procedures, our fears are not only reinforced but they generalize and we become less likely to voice a complaint when next we encounter a problem regardless of the company or business in question.

Why Companies Should Handle Complaints Well

  1. Great complaint handling increases customer loyalty.
  2. Great complaint handling reduces customer attrition.
  3. Great complaint handling spreads positive word of mouth.
  4. Poor complaint handling spreads negative word of mouth.
  5. It is far more expensive for a company to recruit a new customer through traditional marketing and advertisingthan to retain an existing customer by improving complaint handling procedures.
  6. Customer complaints give companies free and crucial information about problems with products or procedures that are costing them customers.
  7. Handling complaints give companies opportunities to have a dialogue with their customers, to educate them about new or existing products and to upsell.

The above factors contribute to significant increases in a company’s bottom line, while handling complaints poorly hurts their bottom line. This makes the fact that companies still fail at complaint handling both unfortunate and at first glance, bewildering….                                                                                                                       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201105/complaint-handling-where-companies-and-customers-both-fail

See, The Benefits of Handling Customer Complaints                                                                      https://businessofstory.com/customer-complaints/

Matt Weingarden  wrote in the American Marketing Association Journal,                      The costs and benefits of addressing customer complaints:

Researchers from Michigan State University, University of South Florida, St. John’s University, and American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) published a new paper that analyzes relationships between customer complaints, complaint handling by companies, and customer loyalty to understand how customer complaint management affects companies’ performance and to inform companies how to manage customer complaints much better and more consistently.

The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Turning Complaining Customers into Loyal Customers: Moderators of the Complaint Handling—Customer Loyalty Relationship” and is authored by Forrest Morgeson, Tomas Hult, Sunil Mithas, Tim Keiningham, and Claes Fornell.

The angry restaurant patron. The irritated airline passenger. The retail customer screaming about a return or refund. Every company worries about complaining customers. They can be loud, disruptive, and damage a company’s brand reputation, sales, employee morale, and market value. But are customer complaints as damaging as they seem?

As it turns out, customers who lodge complaints are not a lost cause. They can still be satisfied and remain loyal if their complaints are handled well. Regrettably, companies rarely handle complaints consistently, partly because they don’t know how.

The research team carried out the largest study ever on customer complaints to inform companies how to manage customer complaints much better and more consistently. We studied data from the world-renowned American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) regarding behaviors of 35,597 complaining customers over a 10-year period across 41 industries…..                                                                                                     https://phys.org/news/2020-08-benefits-customer-complaints.html

Citation:

Forrest V. Morgeson et al, Turning Complaining Customers into Loyal Customers: Moderators of the Complaint Handling–Customer Loyalty Relationship, Journal of Marketing (2020). DOI: 10.1177/0022242920929029

Journal information: Journal of Marketing

Here is the press release from the Journal of Marketing

Press Release from the Journal of Marketing: The Costs and Benefits of Addressing Customer Complaints

6.26.2020

Matt Weingarden

Researchers from Michigan State University, University of South Florida, St. John’s University, and American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) published a new paper that analyzes relationships between customer complaints, complaint handling by companies, and customer loyalty to understand how customer complaint management affects companies’ performance and to inform companies how to manage customer complaints much better and more consistently.

The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Turning Complaining Customers into Loyal Customers: Moderators of the Complaint Handling – Customer Loyalty Relationship” and is authored by Forrest Morgeson, Tomas Hult, Sunil Mithas, Tim Keiningham, and Claes Fornell.

The angry restaurant patron. The irritated airline passenger. The retail customer screaming about a return or refund. Every company worries about complaining customers. They can be loud, disruptive, and damage a company’s brand reputation, sales, employee morale, and market value. But are customer complaints as damaging as they seem?

As it turns out, customers who lodge complaints are not a lost cause. They can still be satisfied and remain loyal if their complaints are handled well. Regrettably, companies rarely handle complaints consistently, partly because they don’t know how.

The research team carried out the largest study ever on customer complaints to inform companies how to manage customer complaints much better and more consistently. We studied data from the world-renowned American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) regarding behaviors of 35,597 complaining customers over a 10-year period across 41 industries.

The study finds that the relationship between a company’s complaint recovery and customer loyalty is stronger during periods of faster economic growth, in more competitive industries, for customers of luxury products, and for customers with higher overall satisfaction and higher expectations of customization. On the other hand, the recovery–loyalty relationship is weaker when customers’ expectations of product/service reliability are higher, for manufactured goods, and for males compared to females.

Hult explains that “We draw two key conclusions from the results. First, companies need to recognize not only that industries vary widely in the percentage of customers who complain (on average, about 11.1 percent), but also that economic, industry, customer-firm, product/service, and customer segment factors dictate the importance of complaint recovery to customers and their future loyalty. Companies should develop complaint management strategies accordingly.”

He continues, “Secondly, the financial benefits of complaint management efforts differ significantly across companies. Since complaint management’s effect on customer loyalty varies across industries and companies offering different kinds of goods, the economic benefit from seeking to reaffirm customer loyalty via complaint recovery varies as well. Through this study, these performance factors can be identified and considered when designing a company’s complaint management system.”

Without context, these conclusions suggest that a profit-maximizing strategy simply requires that managers understand the impact of complaint recovery on customer loyalty in their industry. Added to this complexity, however, is the reality that profitability is not evenly distributed throughout the customer base. Fornell says that “Companies need to implement complaint management systems that make it easier for front-line employees to respond to complaining customers in ways that optimize customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and the economic contribution of customers.”

Without a deeper understanding of the boundaries of the complaint handling–customer loyalty relationship and the effects of economic, industry, customer-firm, product/service, and customer segment factors, companies will likely allocate cost estimates to complaint management that are too low for the required recovery actions or customer loyalty estimates that are too high, or both, instead of achieving an optimal point of recovery-loyalty yield.

Fornell advises that “Achieving an optimal recovery-loyalty yield is more advantageous than adopting the mantra that the customer is always right. It is a folly to believe that the customer is always right. Economically speaking, the customer is only “right” if there is an economic gain for the company to keep that customer. In reality, some complaining customers are very costly and not worth keeping.”

Full article and author contact information available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920929029

About the Journal of Marketing
The Journal of Marketing develops and disseminates knowledge about real-world marketing questions useful to scholars, educators, managers, policy makers, consumers, and other societal stakeholders around the world. Published by the American Marketing Association since its founding in 1936, JM has played a significant role in shaping the content and boundaries of the marketing discipline. Christine Moorman (T. Austin Finch, Sr. Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University) serves as the current Editor in Chief.
https://www.ama.org/jm

About the American Marketing Association (AMA)
As the largest chapter-based marketing association in the world, the AMA is trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover what’s coming next in the industry. The AMA has a community of local chapters in more than 70 cities and 350 college campuses throughout North America. The AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM® professional certification, premiere academic journals, and industry-leading training events and conferences.
https://www.ama.org/

ACADEMIC

Matt Weingarden

Matt Weingarden is Director, Integrated Academic Content, a role which includes serving as publisher and managing editor of the AMA’s four scholarly journals, as well as managing the AMA’s numerous academic conferences and academic community initiatives.

Mathew Swyers wrote in the INC article, 5 Steps to Handling a Customer Complaint: Your employees may be turning customers away. Teach them these simple steps to navigate through a customer service issue:

So don’t make a mistake that costs your business its business. Teach all your employees how to handle complaints like a pro:

  1. Listen and Understand

First, always listen to the customer. They are concerned about an aspect of your services. Let go of the temptation to respond in any quick fashion. Take the time to listen and truly understand what is driving their concern.

  1. Empathize

Once you have listened to their concern immediately empathize with their position to create a bond between you and the customer so that they know you have heard their concern and are going to work with them to resolve the issue.

  1. Offer a Solution

Offer a solution to their problem. In this regard, always focus on what you can do as opposed to what you cannot. There is always a solution. It may not be exactly what they are asking for, but if you focus on what you can do versus denying them their requested remedy you have still offered a solution and often merely having another option is sufficient to remedy the situation.

  1. Execute the Solution

Solve their problem be it with their originally requested resolution or an alternative you have proposed.

  1. Follow-Up

Once you have gone through the first four steps, make sure to follow-up with them to make sure that they are satisfied with the solution and that you have taken care of their concern.                                                                                                   https://www.inc.com/matthew-swyers/5-steps-to-handling-a-customer-complaint.html

Resources:

7 Steps for Resolving Customer Complaints                                                                                   https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/7-steps-for-resolving-customer-complaints.html

The Right Words and Phrases to Say to an Angry Customer                                                     https://www.callcentrehelper.com/the-right-words-and-phrases-to-use-with-an-angry-customer-30110.htm

8 Steps to Squash a Customer’s Complaint

Before you rush to defend yourself or fight back remember to put yourself in your customer’s shoes.                                                                                                                         https://www.inc.com/matthew-swyers/8-steps-to-handle-customer-complaints.html

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©
https://drwilda.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Michigan State University study: How to treat depression in prison — and why it matters

3 Mar

Moi has posted about the “school-to-prison” pipeline in The ‘school-to-prison pipeline’: Moi wrote about the “school-to-prison pipeline” in Inappropriate discipline: The first step on the road to education failure:
Joan Gausted of the University of Oregon has an excellent article in Eric Digest 78, School Discipline:

School discipline has two main goals: (1) ensure the safety of staff and students, and (2) create an environment conducive to learning. Serious student misconduct involving violent or criminal behavior defeats these goals and often makes headlines in the process. However, the commonest discipline problems involve noncriminal student behavior (Moles 1989).
The issue for schools is how to maintain order, yet deal with noncriminal student behavior and keep children in school.

Alan Schwartz wrote a provocative article in the New York Times about a longitudinal study of discipline conducted in Texas. In School Discipline Study Raises Fresh Questions Schwartz reports:

Raising new questions about the effectiveness of school discipline, a report scheduled for release on Tuesday found that 31 percent of Texas students were suspended off campus or expelled at least once during their years in middle and high school — at an average of almost four times apiece. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/education/19discipline.html?_r=2&hpw&
Donna St. George wrote a Washington Post article which elaborates on the Texas study. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/study-exposes-some-some-myths-about-school-discipline/2011/07/18/gIQAV0sZMI_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

See:

Education Law Center
http://www.edlawcenter.org/ELCPublic/StudentRights/StudentDiscipline.htm

Discipline In Schools: What Works and What Doesn’t?
http://www.eduguide.org/article/discipline-in-school-what-works-and-what-doesnt

Many schools deal with populations of children suffering from depression. Many children suffering from depression or other mental health issues escalate their behavior to the point they are involved in the criminal justice system, See, https://drwilda.com/tag/depression-in-children/ The preferred strategy is to treat depression and mental health issues in the education system.

Science Daily reported in How to treat depression in prison — and why it matters:

Of the 4 million prisoners released each year, 23 percent have suffered from major depressive disorder. Due to resource shortages, many go without adequate treatment while in prison. Oftentimes they rejoin society in worse mental shape than before their incarceration — which could be prevented with the right care. A team led by Michigan State University has found a cost-effective way to improve mental health in prisons.
The research, published in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, tested the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy for inmates battling major depressive disorder, or MDD, as a strategy to bring affordable treatment into a prison setting. It is the first large randomized trial of any treatment for MDD, including therapy or medications, in any incarcerated population.
About 15 million people touch the criminal justice system each year in the United States,” said Jennifer Johnson, lead author and professor of public health in MSU’s College of Human Medicine. “Most of us have friends, family or neighbors who have been through this system. The fact we’ve waited until 2019 to conduct a trial like this means we’ve understudied and underserved a huge population.”
About 2.3 million people are incarcerated every day, and if they too suffer from depression, addiction or other disorders, they often do not get the help they need. Prison funding for mental health care is determined by state legislatures, which often leaves them understaffed and under-resourced, Johnson explained. Voters may be unsympathetic, which creates a deficit for mental health treatment in the prison system — which houses many people with untreated mental illnesses.
To address the issues of care and cost, Johnson and colleagues trained a team to treat 181 inmates through interpersonal psychotherapy, or IPT. The team included master’s level health therapists working in the prisons and bachelor’s level re-entry counselors. This allowed the researchers to keep costs down by extending the reach of counselors and care without having to hire new mental health professionals.
Johnson explained that IPT is one of the most-effective forms of therapy because it addresses difficult life events, which consistently burden prison populations. She explained that traumatic and challenging experiences — such as assault, abuse, poverty, death of loved ones and loss of family members, children and friends — are overwhelmingly present with those incarcerated….
Counselors worked in a group-setting with inmates twice a week for 10 weeks, which reduced the cost of treatment. Inmates were individually assessed at the beginning of the trial, after the trial ended and then three months later to see if the therapy had a lasting impact….
Using IPT proved a low-cost intervention as well. Once counselors are trained and supervision is no longer needed, the cost per patient would be $575 — significantly less than treatment options outside of prison, she said.
“This is the first large randomized study for major depression ever conducted for an incarcerated population, one that found an effective and cost-effective solution,” Johnson said. “This method could drastically improve the mental well-being of people while in prison — and when they re-enter the world.”
Moving forward, Johnson will continue researching ways to treat inmates by conducting the first large randomized suicide prevention trial for people leaving the criminal justice system.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190221115909.htm

Citation:

How to treat depression in prison — and why it matters
Date: February 21, 2019
Source: Michigan State University
Summary:
The first randomized study of its kind reveals effective treatment for prisoners suffering from mental illness.

Journal Reference:
Jennifer E. Johnson, Robert L. Stout, Ted R. Miller, Caron Zlotnick, Louis A. Cerbo, Joel T. Andrade, Jessica Nargiso, Joseph Bonner, Shannon Wiltsey-Stirman. Randomized cost-effectiveness trial of group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for prisoners with major depression.. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000379

Here is the press release from Michigan State University:

HOW TO TREAT DEPRESSION IN PRISON – AND WHY IT MATTERS
Contact(s): Caroline Brooks , Jennifer Johnson
Of the 4 million prisoners released each year, 23 percent have suffered from major depressive disorder. Due to resource shortages, many go without adequate treatment while in prison. Oftentimes they rejoin society in worse mental shape than before their incarceration – which could be prevented with the right care. A team led by Michigan State University has found a cost-effective way to improve mental health in prisons.
The research, published in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, tested the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy for inmates battling major depressive disorder, or MDD, as a strategy to bring affordable treatment into a prison setting. It is the first large randomized trial of any treatment for MDD, including therapy or medications, in any incarcerated population.
About 15 million people touch the criminal justice system each year in the United States,” said Jennifer Johnson, lead author and professor of public health in MSU’s College of Human Medicine. “Most of us have friends, family or neighbors who have been through this system. The fact we’ve waited until 2019 to conduct a trial like this means we’ve understudied and underserved a huge population.”
About 2.3 million people are incarcerated every day, and if they too suffer from depression, addiction or other disorders, they often do not get the help they need. Prison funding for mental health care is determined by state legislatures, which often leaves them understaffed and under-resourced, Johnson explained. Voters may be unsympathetic, which creates a deficit for mental health treatment in the prison system – which houses many people with untreated mental illnesses.
To address the issues of care and cost, Johnson and colleagues trained a team to treat 181 inmates through interpersonal psychotherapy, or IPT. The team included master’s level health therapists working in the prisons and bachelor’s level re-entry counselors. This allowed the researchers to keep costs down by extending the reach of counselors and care without having to hire new mental health professionals.
Johnson explained that IPT is one of the most-effective forms of therapy because it addresses difficult life events, which consistently burden prison populations. She explained that traumatic and challenging experiences – such as assault, abuse, poverty, death of loved ones and loss of family members, children and friends – are overwhelmingly present with those incarcerated.
“When practicing IPT, you go back to when someone’s depressed mood began and talk about what was going on in their life at that time,” Johnson said. “IPT deals with relationships, feelings, conflicts with others, life changes and grief. Using this therapy, you’re helping people feel and express emotions, and problem-solve with them in ways to improve communications or improve relationships that address the original problem.”
Counselors worked in a group-setting with inmates twice a week for 10 weeks, which reduced the cost of treatment. Inmates were individually assessed at the beginning of the trial, after the trial ended and then three months later to see if the therapy had a lasting impact.
“As compared to the usual treatment prisons offer, IPT reduced depressive symptoms, hopelessness and PTSD symptoms and was better at ending cases of major depression,” Johnson said.
Using IPT proved a low-cost intervention as well. Once counselors are trained and supervision is no longer needed, the cost per patient would be $575 – significantly less than treatment options outside of prison, she said.
“This is the first large randomized study for major depression ever conducted for an incarcerated population, one that found an effective and cost-effective solution,” Johnson said. “This method could drastically improve the mental well-being of people while in prison – and when they re-enter the world.”
Moving forward, Johnson will continue researching ways to treat inmates by conducting the first large randomized suicide prevention trial for people leaving the criminal justice system.
(Note for media: Please include a link to the original paper in online coverage: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-05660-001?doi=1)

If you or your child needs help for depression or another illness, then go to a reputable medical provider. There is nothing wrong with taking the steps necessary to get well.

Related:

Schools have to deal with depressed and troubled children
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/schools-have-to-deal-with-depressed-and-troubled-children/

School psychologists are needed to treat troubled children
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/school-psychologists-are-needed-to-treat-troubled-children/

Battling teen addiction: ‘Recovery high schools’
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/battling-teen-addiction-recovery-high-schools/
Resources:

About.Com’s Depression In Young Children http://depression.about.com/od/child/Young_Children.htm

Psych Central’s Depression In Young Children http://depression.about.com/od/child/Young_Children.htm

Psychiatric News’ Study Helps Pinpoint Children With Depression http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=106034

Family Doctor’s What Is Depression? http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/depression.html

WebMD’s Depression In Children http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-children

Healthline’s Is Your Child Depressed?
http://www.healthline.com/hlvideo-5min/how-to-help-your-child-through-depression-517095449

Medicine.Net’s Depression In Children http://www.onhealth.com/depression_in_children/article.htm

Related:
A strategy to reduce school suspensions: ‘School Wide Positive Behavior Support’
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/a-strategy-to-reduce-school-suspensions-school-wide-positive-behavior-support/

Single-sex classrooms should be allowed in public schools
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/single-sex-classrooms-should-be-allowed-in-public-schools/

Boys of color: Resources from the Boys Initiative
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/boys-of-color-resources-from-the-boys-initiative/

U.S. Education Dept. Civil Rights Office releases report on racial disparity in school retention
https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/u-s-education-dept-civil-rights-office-releases-report-on-racial-disparity-in-school-retention/

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com
Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©
https://drwilda.com/

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Michigan State University study: Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change

24 Feb

Rafi Letzer wrote in the LiveScience article, Is Your Dog Super Smart? No, LOL:

Lea and his colleague Britta Osthaus, of Canterbury Christ Church University in the United Kingdom, examined more than 300 studies of dog cognition. The researchers compared the studies’ results with those from research into other carnivores, other social hunters and other domestic animals, “with a particular emphasis on wolves, cats, spotted hyenas, chimpanzees, dolphins, horses and pigeons,” the study said.
The researchers made specific comparisons between the different species in different categories of smarts: sensory cognition, physical cognition, spatial cognition, social cognition and self-awareness. The dogs did turn up smart, but not blazingly so.
In many areas, though, the comparisons were difficult to make due to a simple lack of data. For example, the researchers noted that both dogs and cats are known to be able to recognize and distinguish human voices. But the investigators couldn’t find any data to indicate which species can remember a greater number of distinct human voices, so it was impossible to compare the two on that front.
Zachary Silver, a graduate student and researcher at Yale’s Canine Cognition Center who was not involved in the study, told Live Science that the research provided “an excellent framework for future [comparative] research.” But he added that he thinks the authors overstated the idea that an excessive amount of study has been devoted to dogs.
“I don’t think that dogs are overstudied. The field of canine cognition is still very young, and there is still a great deal to be learned about how dogs think and view the world,” he said. “As a proponent of the comparative approach, I would argue that as a field we would be well-suited to increase our emphasis on species-to-species comparisons.”
There’s a straightforward reason for scientists to be interested in dog brains, Silver said, and it’s not that researchers think canines are animal geniuses.
“In my view, the existing literature does not necessarily imply that dogs are unusually intelligent per se. Rather, much of the recent research on canine cognition simply argues that dogs’ manner of thinking and reasoning about certain components of the world is distinct,” he said.
In other words, dogs aren’t super-thinkers, but they are special thinkers…. https://www.livescience.com/63742-dogs-brain-not-smart.html

Dogs have a distinct personalities.

Jennifer Nelson wrote in Dogs Have These 5 Major Personality Types:

The Confident Dog
A Confident Dog is comfortable in his surroundings and is a natural born leader. He can easily take charge of a situation and is also likely to be a team player. His confident manner will show in his body language.
Confident Dogs may display dominant behaviors, and reacting harshly to these behaviors or trying to dominate your dog may lead to aggression or more willfulness.
Contrary to popular belief, dominance is not a personality type but a term to describe the hierarchy between animals. A natural leader only needs the confidence and ability to lead his pack, he doesn’t need to resort to aggressiveness to maintain his alpha status. Dogs have been a different species from wolves for thousands of years, and trying to use a wolf pack mentality on your dog could actually backfire and cause him to mistrust you. Positive reinforcement is always the best way to train a dog, even a Confident Dog with dominant behaviors.
The Shy or Timid Dog
Just like people, dogs can be shy or nervous. Forcing your dog into situations that make him uncomfortable could have the opposite of your intended effect – while you’re trying to acclimate your dog to the world, he will interpret you as forcing him to do things that are extremely scary, which could lead to mistrust.
Shy Dogs tend to react very well to lots of praise, treats, encouragement, and introducing them to new people, places, or experiences at a slower pace. Shy Dogs will not enjoy loud, chaotic environments and may become insecure, fearful, or aggressive without gentle treatment. He will need lots of reassurance that he is safe, secure, and loved.
The Independent Dog
Many breeds were bred to live, act, and think independently of their owners, and those tendencies may remain in your dog’s instincts to this day.
Independent Dogs may not bond well with anybody they don’t see as a leader, and they tend to bond most with one person while remaining less enthusiastic about other people. They are perfectly okay by themselves and may even appear to be standoffish.
Trying to force an Independent Dog to be overly social may backfire and cause aggression. A dog with an independent personality type can be difficult to train without the right kind of motivation, since they would rather think for themselves than to do what you ask of them. You may need to experiment to see whether your Independent Dog is more motivated by treats, toys, or affection.
The Laidback, Happy Dog
This is the stereotypical friendly dog who loves everybody and would lead a robber directly to the family’s valuables with a wagging tail. They’ll typically get along with all people, dogs, and even cats.
Happy Dogs tend to be overly enthusiastic, especially without enough training or exercise. They are more likely to jump on people since they are so excited at the possibility of having another best friend for life. These types of dogs, especially when they are larger breeds like Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers, can be scary for small children who can be knocked over by an exuberant dog’s love and affection. They need training to keep them calm when they meet people.
The Adaptable Dog
Slightly different from the Happy Dog, the Adaptable Dog is eager to please in any environment and will control his enthusiasm in favor of doing something that will make his owner happy.
This personality type is easiest to train, since they have such a strong desire to please. They are friendly without being overly exuberant and they mind their people. They tend to get along with people, other dogs, and cats, and can make great therapy dogs due to their calm, loving nature…. https://iheartdogs.com/dogs-have-these-5-major-personality-types/

Although, there are basic personality types, a Michigan State study suggests your dog’s personality may change over time.

Science Daily reported in Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change, Like humans, dogs’ personalities likely change over time:

When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs’ bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs’ naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs’ personalities. Dogs, like people, have moods and personality traits that shape how they react in certain situations. New findings from Michigan State University went where few researchers have gone before to reveal that, also like humans, dogs’ personalities likely change over time.
“When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs — and to a surprisingly large degree,” said William Chopik, professor of psychology and lead author. “We expected the dogs’ personalities to be fairly stable because they don’t have wild lifestyle changes humans do, but they actually change a lot. We uncovered similarities to their owners, the optimal time for training and even a time in their lives that they can get more aggressive toward other animals.”
Additionally, Chopik found that dogs’ personalities can predict many important life outcomes. For example, canines’ personalities will influence how close they feel to their owners, biting behavior and even chronic illness.
The research, published in Journal of Research in Personality, is one of the first — and is the largest — studies of its kind to examine changes in dogs’ personalities. Chopik surveyed owners of more than 1,600 dogs, including 50 different breeds. Dogs ranged from just a few weeks old to 15 years, and were split closely between male and female. The extensive survey had owners evaluate their dog’s personalities and answered questions about the dog’s behavioral history. The owners also answered a survey about their own personalities.
“We found correlations in three main areas: age and personality, in human-to-dog personality similarities and in the influence a dog’s personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner,” Chopik said. “Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the ‘sweet spot’ for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of six, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before its too set in its ways.”
One trait that rarely changes in age with dogs, Chopik said, was fear and anxiety.
Honing in on the saying, “dogs resemble their owners,” Chopik’s research showed dogs and owners share specific personality traits. Extroverted humans rated their dogs as more excitable and active, while owners high in negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful, active and less responsive to training. Owners who rated themselves as agreeable rated their dogs as less fearful and less aggressive to people and animals.
The owners who felt happiest about their relationships with their dogs reported active and excitable dogs, as well as dogs who were most responsive to training. Aggression and anxiety didn’t matter as much in having a happy relationship, Chopiksaid…..

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190222125218.htm

Citation:

Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change
Like humans, dogs’ personalities likely change over time
Date: February 22, 2019
Source: Michigan State University
Summary:
When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs’ bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs’ naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs’ personalities.
Journal Reference:
William J. Chopik, Jonathan R. Weaver. Old dog, new tricks: Age differences in dog personality traits, associations with human personality traits, and links to important outcomes. Journal of Research in Personality, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2019.01.005

Here is the press release from Michigan State University:

PUBLIC RELEASE: 22-FEB-2019
Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change
New findings from MSU went where few researchers have gone before to reveal that, like humans, dogs’ personalities likely change over time.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs’ bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs’ naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs’ personalities. Dogs, like people, have moods and personality traits that shape how they react in certain situations. New findings from Michigan State University went where few researchers have gone before to reveal that, also like humans, dogs’ personalities likely change over time.
“When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs – and to a surprisingly large degree,” said William Chopik, professor of psychology and lead author. “We expected the dogs’ personalities to be fairly stable because they don’t have wild lifestyle changes humans do, but they actually change a lot. We uncovered similarities to their owners, the optimal time for training and even a time in their lives that they can get more aggressive toward other animals.”
Additionally, Chopik found that dogs’ personalities can predict many important life outcomes. For example, canines’ personalities will influence how close they feel to their owners, biting behavior and even chronic illness.
The research, published in Journal of Research in Personality, is one of the first – and is the largest – studies of its kind to examine changes in dogs’ personalities. Chopik surveyed owners of more than 1,600 dogs, including 50 different breeds. Dogs ranged from just a few weeks old to 15 years, and were split closely between male and female. The extensive survey had owners evaluate their dog’s personalities and answered questions about the dog’s behavioral history. The owners also answered a survey about their own personalities.
“We found correlations in three main areas: age and personality, in human-to-dog personality similarities and in the influence a dog’s personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner,” Chopik said. “Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the ‘sweet spot’ for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of six, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before its too set in its ways.”
One trait that rarely changes in age with dogs, Chopik said, was fear and anxiety.
Honing in on the saying, “dogs resemble their owners,” Chopik’s research showed dogs and owners share specific personality traits. Extroverted humans rated their dogs as more excitable and active, while owners high in negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful, active and less responsive to training. Owners who rated themselves as agreeable rated their dogs as less fearful and less aggressive to people and animals.
The owners who felt happiest about their relationships with their dogs reported active and excitable dogs, as well as dogs who were most responsive to training. Aggression and anxiety didn’t matter as much in having a happy relationship, Chopik said.
“There are a lot of things we can do with dogs – like obedience classes and training – that we can’t do with people,” he said. “Exposure to obedience classes was associated with more positive personality traits across the dog’s lifespan. This gives us exciting opportunities to examine why personality changes in all sorts of animals.”
Chopik’s findings prove how much power humans have over influencing a dog’s personality. He explained that many of the reasons a dog’s personality changes are a result of the “nature versus nurture” theory associated with humans’ personalities.
Next, Chopik’s will research will examine how the environment owners provide their dogs might change the dogs’ behavior.
“Say you adopt a dog from a shelter. Some traits are likely tied to biology and resistant to change, but you then put it in a new environment where it’s loved, walked and entertained often. The dog then might become a little more relaxed and sociable,” Chopik said. “Now that we know dogs’ personalities can change, next we want to make strong connection to understand why dogs act – and change – the way they do.”
###
(Note for media: Please include a link to the original paper in online coverage: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656618301661?via%3Dihub)
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Like humans, a dog’s personality can change for a variety of reasons.

Josie F. Turner wrote in the Animal Wised article, Why Has my Dog’s Personality Changed:

Which are the most common reasons for a dog’s change in personality?
• Castration: It is very common for a change in personality to occur after sterilizing your pet. We may find ourselves with a relaxed and submissive dog or rather the opposite.
• Old age: In old age our dog undergoes physical and mental changes such as the loss of some capabilities. For this reason we may observe a change where it becomes more unsociable or passive.
• Sexual maturity: At this stage of growth the dog explores changes in its body. It is very important that we continue to support socialization with other pets, people and environments during this phase. It must learn to behave in this new stage of life.
• New pet: If we add a new dog or cat to the family it may be that our beloved dog will show some jealous behavior or dominance towards the newcomer. Although this is normal behavior it is very important that it respects the new family member. We will put limits on the dog, though it is very important that it believes it is above (hierarchically speaking) the new pet.
• Disease: A sick dog may show abnormal behavior. If you think a change in behavior may be related to some kind of disease do not wait further and take your pet to the vet.
• Incorrect socialization: If your dog has not learned the importance of playing properly with other dogs as a puppy, then you will have to teach it to do so as an adult dog. Never stop encouraging socialization with other members of their own species as well as humans. Very important.
• Changes in the environment: If you have decided to move from a house to an apartment, you have taken away its toys without realizing or your pet lately spends a long time alone then you should ask yourself if these are the reasons that explain your dog’s change in personality.
• Loss of a loved one: Whether it is another dog or a human, the dog will deeply feel that loss much like you. It is a psychological problem that requires handling with care and providing the animal with new stimuli and motivations that distract it and help it overcome these difficulties.
• Baby at home: The arrival of a baby to the household can generate jealousy and envy in a dog. Although it is very important that a distance be maintained between the newcomer and our pet, we will try to ensure that each receives equal attention, care and pampering. Fostering a good relationship between the two is essential.
• Aggressiveness: Aggressiveness is a serious behavior problem as it feeds back and creates other problems seen in this list. It should be treated by a specialist.
• Depression: A multitude of symptoms can indicate that our dog is suffering from depression (lack of appetite, avoiding playing games, not interacting with others), this will likely be for a specific reason. We must look for the trigger to fix the problem.
• Anxiety: The lack of interaction with other dogs or an unattended basic need may be grounds for anxiety. Find out what the problem that generates anxiety in your pet is to fix it as soon as possible.
• Bad communication: A dog and its master do not always understand each other perfectly. It is important to learn and be informed about canine communication and how to deal with it. If you and your dog are not on the same wavelength this can cause confusion and discomfort in your environment and this will directly affect its personality.
• Phobias and fears: It is true that many dogs have irrational fears (other dogs, water, cats, cars, fireworks…). If the thing that causes fear in our dog is inevitable and present in our everyday environment we will have to practice a socialization process so that our pet understands that it should not fear that element, or at least learn to ignore it. Even if it results from a bad experience it is never too late to help your pet overcome its fears and apprehensions…. https://www.animalwised.com/why-has-my-dog-s-personality-changed-251.html

If the personality change of your pet is profound, you may need to consult your vet and seek pet training. See, Finding Professional Behavior Help https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/behavioral-help-your-pet

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©
https://drwilda.com/

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Michigan State University study: Healthcare providers — not hackers — leak more of your data

22 Nov

Lucas Mearian reported in Hackers are coming for your healthcare records — here’s why:

Data stolen from a bank quickly becomes useless once the breach is discovered and passcodes are changed. But data from the healthcare industry, which includes both personal identities and medical histories, can live a lifetime.
Cyberattacks will cost hospitals more than $305 billion over the next five years and one in 13 patients will have their data compromised by a hack, according to industry consultancy Accenture….
The Brookings research demonstrates that the healthcare sector is uniquely vulnerable to privacy breaches. For one thing, government regulations forced healthcare operations to adopt electronic health records (EHR) and other advances under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) even if they weren’t ready to adequately invest in security.
Healthcare records also contain the most valuable information available, including Social Security numbers, home addresses and patient health histories — making them more valuable to hackers than other types of data, according to the study by the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation. Since cybercriminals can sell data for a premium on the black market, hackers have a big incentive to focus their attacks on the healthcare industry.
With the push toward more integrated care, “medical data are now being shared with many different types of entities in which many employees have access to patient records,” the study said. “Extended access to medical records increases the potential for privacy breaches.”
To comply with legal requirements, healthcare organizations often store detailed medical information for many years. The probability of a breach — and the potential severity of the consequences — increases according to the amount of data stored and the length of time it is stored….
The greatest threat to the healthcare industry today, Safavi said, is not from one-off hackers seeking quick paydays, but from foreign governments that can store intimate personal health data for future use against individuals.
For example, hackers last year stole the records of about 80 million customers of Anthem Inc., the second largest U.S. health insurer.
“The presumption was that they were state actors,” Safavi said. “The purpose of the state actor was to harvest the database in order to create a dossier of individuals that they could use for social engineering for future attacks….” https://www.computerworld.com/article/3090566/healthcare-it/hackers-are-coming-for-your-healthcare-records-heres-why.html

A Michigan State University study highlighted the risks of inadequate security by medical providers against hackers.

Science Daily reported in Healthcare providers — not hackers — leak more of your data:

Your personal identity may fall at the mercy of sophisticated hackers on many websites, but when it comes to health data breaches, hospitals, doctors offices and even insurance companies are oftentimes the culprits.
New research from Michigan State University and Johns Hopkins University found that more than half of the recent personal health information, or PHI, data breaches were because of internal issues with medical providers — not because of hackers or external parties.
“There’s no perfect way to store information, but more than half of the cases we reviewed were not triggered by external factors — but rather by internal negligence,” said John (Xuefeng) Jiang, lead author and associate professor of accounting and information systems at MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business.
The research, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, follows the joint 2017 study that showed the magnitude of hospital data breaches in the United States. The research revealed nearly 1,800 occurrences of large data breaches in patient information over a seven years, with 33 hospitals experiencing more than one substantial breach.
For this paper, Jiang and co-author Ge Bai, associate professor at the John’s Hopkins Carey Business School, dove deeper to identify triggers of the PHI data breaches. They reviewed nearly 1,150 cases between October 2009 and December 2017 that affected more than 164 million patients.
“Every time a hospital has some sort of a data breach, they need to report it to the Department of Health and Human Services and classify what they believe is the cause,” Jiang, the Plante Moran Faculty Fellow, said. “These causes fell into six categories: theft, unauthorized access, hacking or an IT incident, loss, improper disposal or ‘other.'”
After reviewing detailed reports, assessing notes and reclassifying cases with specific benchmarks, Jiang and Bai found that 53 percent were the result of internal factors in healthcare entities.
“One quarter of all the cases were caused by unauthorized access or disclosure — more than twice the amount that were caused by external hackers,” Jiang said. “This could be an employee taking PHI home or forwarding to a personal account or device, accessing data without authorization, or even through email mistakes, like sending to the wrong recipients, copying instead of blind copying or sharing unencrypted content.”
While some of the errors seem to be common sense, Jiang said that the big mistakes can lead to even bigger accidents and that seemingly innocuous errors can compromise patients’ personal data….” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181120073655.htm

Citation:

Healthcare providers — not hackers — leak more of your data
Date: November 20, 2018
Source: Michigan State University
Summary:
New research found that more than half of the recent personal health information, or PHI, data breaches were because of internal issues with medical providers — not because of hackers or external parties.

Here is the press release from Michigan State:
Published: Nov. 16, 2018

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS – NOT HACKERS – LEAK MORE OF YOUR DATA
Contact(s): Caroline Brooks , Xuefeng Jiang

Your personal identity may fall at the mercy of sophisticated hackers on many websites, but when it comes to health data breaches, hospitals, doctors offices and even insurance companies are oftentimes the culprits.
New research from Michigan State University and Johns Hopkins University found that more than half of the recent personal health information, or PHI, data breaches were because of internal issues with medical providers – not because of hackers or external parties.
“There’s no perfect way to store information, but more than half of the cases we reviewed were not triggered by external factors – but rather by internal negligence,” said John (Xuefeng) Jiang, lead author and associate professor of accounting and information systems at MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business.
The research, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, follows the joint 2017 study that showed the magnitude of hospital data breaches in the United States. The research revealed nearly 1,800 occurrences of large data breaches in patient information over seven years, with 33 hospitals experiencing more than one substantial breach.
For this paper, Jiang and co-author Ge Bai, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, dove deeper to identify triggers of the PHI data breaches. They reviewed nearly 1,150 cases between October 2009 and December 2017 that affected more than 164 million patients.
“Every time a hospital has some sort of a data breach, they need to report it to the Department of Health and Human Services and classify what they believe is the cause,” Jiang, the Plante Moran Faculty Fellow, said. “These causes fell into six categories: theft, unauthorized access, hacking or an IT incident, loss, improper disposal or ‘other.’”
After reviewing detailed reports, assessing notes and reclassifying cases with specific benchmarks, Jiang and Bai found that 53 percent were the result of internal factors in health care entities.
“One quarter of all the cases were caused by unauthorized access or disclosure – more than twice the amount that were caused by external hackers,” Jiang said. “This could be an employee taking PHI home or forwarding to a personal account or device, accessing data without authorization, or even through email mistakes, like sending to the wrong recipients, copying instead of blind copying or sharing unencrypted content.”
While some of the errors seem to be common sense, Jiang said that the big mistakes can lead to even bigger accidents and that seemingly innocuous errors can compromise patients’ personal data.
“Hospitals, doctors offices, insurance companies, small physician offices and even pharmacies are making these kinds of errors and putting patients at risk,” Jiang said.
Of the external breaches, theft accounted for 33 percent with hacking credited for just 12 percent.
Some data breaches might result in minor consequences, such as obtaining the phone numbers of patients, but others can have much more invasive effects. For example, when Anthem, Inc. suffered a data breach in 2015, 37.5 million records were compromised. Many of the victims were not notified immediately, so weren’t aware of the situation until they went to file their taxes only to discover that a third-party fraudulently filed them with the data they obtained from Anthem.
While tight software and hardware security can protect from theft and hackers, Jiang and Bai suggest health care providers adopt internal policies and procedures that can tighten processes and prevent internal parties from leaking PHI by following a set of simple protocols. The procedures to mitigate PHI breaches related to storage include transitioning from paper to digital medical records, safe storage, moving to non-mobile policies for patient-protected information and implementing encryption. Procedures related to PHI communication include mandatory verification of mailing recipients, following a “copy vs. blind copy” protocol (bcc vs cc) as well as encryption of content.
“Not putting on the whole armor opened health care entities to enemy’s attacks,” Bai said. “The good news is that the armor is not hard to put on if simple protocols are followed.”
Next, Jiang and Bai plan to look even more closely at the kind of data that is hacked from external sources to learn what exactly digital thieves hope to steal from patient data. https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2018/health-care-providers-not-hackers-leak-more-of-your-data/

Protecting vital information from hackers of all types is constantly chasing a moving target.

Medical providers range from small offices to large institutions and university departments. Wendy Zamora wrote in 10 ways to protect against hackers:

What can you do to protect it against cybercriminals? Instead of sitting back and waiting to get infected, why not arm yourself and fight back?
Bad guys, beware. We’ve got 10 ways to beat you.
1. Update your OS and other software frequently, if not automatically. This keeps hackers from accessing your computer through vulnerabilities in outdated programs (which can be exploited by malware). For extra protection, enable Microsoft product updates so that the Office Suite will be updated at the same time. Consider retiring particularly susceptible software such as Java or Flash, especially as many sites and services continue to move away from them.
2. Download up-to-date security programs, including anti-malware software with multiple technologies for protecting against spyware, ransomware, and exploits, as well as a firewall, if your OS didn’t come pre-packaged with it. (You’ll want to check if your OS has both firewall and antivirus built in and enabled by default, and whether those programs are compatible with additional cybersecurity software.)
3. Destroy all traces of your personal info on hardware you plan on selling. Consider using d-ban to erase your hard drive. For those looking to pillage your recycled devices, this makes information much more difficult to recover. If the information you’d like to protect is critical enough, removing the platters where the information is stored then destroying them is the way to go.
4. Do not use open Wi-Fi on your router; it makes it too easy for threat actors to steal your connection and download illegal files. Protect your Wi-Fi with an encrypted password, and consider refreshing your equipment every few years. Some routers have vulnerabilities that are never patched. Newer routers allow you to provide guests with segregated wireless access. Plus, they make frequent password changes easier.
5. Speaking of passwords: password protect all of your devices, including your desktop, laptop, phone, smartwatch, tablet, camera, lawnmower…you get the idea. The ubiquity of mobile devices makes them especially vulnerable. Lock your phone and make the timeout fairly short. Use fingerprint lock for the iPhone and passkey or swipe for Android. “It’s easy to forget that mobile devices are essentially small computers that just happen to fit in your pocket and can be used as a phone,” says Jean-Philippe Taggart, Senior Security Researcher at Malwarebytes. “Your mobile device contains a veritable treasure trove of personal information and, once unlocked, can lead to devastating consequences.”
6. Sensing a pattern here? Create difficult passwords, and never use the same ones across multiple services. If that’s as painful as a stake to a vampire’s heart, use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password. For extra hacker protection, ask about two-step authentication. Several services have only recently started to offer 2FA, and they require the user to initiate the process. Trust us, the extra friction is worth it. Two-factor authentication makes taking over an account that much more difficult, and on the flip side, much easier to reclaim should the worst happen.
7. Come up with creative answers for your security questions. People can now figure out your mother’s maiden name or where you graduated from high school with a simple Google search. Consider answering like a crazy person. If Bank of America asks, “What was the name of your first boyfriend/girlfriend?” reply, “Your mom.” Just don’t forget that’s how you answered when they ask you again.
8. Practice smart emailing. Phishing campaigns still exist, but cybercriminals have become much cleverer than that Nigerian prince who needs your money. Hover over links to see their actual URLs (as opposed to just seeing words in hyperlink text). Also, check to see if the email is really from the person or company claiming to have sent it. If you’re not sure, pay attention to awkward sentence construction and formatting. If something still seems fishy, do a quick search on the Internet for the subject line. Others may have been scammed and posted about it online.
9. Some websites will ask you to sign in with a specific service to access features or post a comment. Ensure the login option isn’t a sneaky phish, and if you’re giving permission to an app to perform a task, ensure you know how to revoke access once you no longer need it. Old, abandoned connections from service to service are an easy way to see your main account compromised by spam.
10. Keep sensitive data off the cloud. “No matter which way you cut it, data stored on the cloud doesn’t belong to you,” says Taggart. “There are very few cloud storage solutions that offer encryption for ‘data at rest.’ Use the cloud accordingly. If it’s important, don’t.”
Honorable mentions: Alarmist webpages announcing that there are “critical errors” on your computer are lies. Microsoft will never contact you in person to remove threats. These messages come from scammers, and if you allow them to remotely connect to your computer, they could try to steal your information and your money. If that’s not a Nightmare on Elm Street, then we don’t know what is. https://blog.malwarebytes.com/101/2015/10/10-ways-to-protect-against-hackers/

Hacking of medical records is cyber warfare and the best defense is a good offense.

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:
C

OMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©
https://drwilda.com/

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Michigan State University study: Young children can understand large numbers

21 Dec

Mary Niederberger of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes in the article, Formula written for math success:

Mastery of fractions and early division is a predictor of students’ later success with algebra and other higher-level mathematics, based on a study done by a team of researchers led by a Carnegie Mellon University professor.
That means more effective teaching of the concepts is needed to improve math scores among U.S. high school students, which have remained stagnant for more than 30 years….
The study said a likely reason for U.S. students’ weakness in fractions and division could be linked to their teachers’ “lack of a firm conceptual understanding” of the concepts, citing several other studies in which many American teachers were unable to explain the reasons behind mathematical solutions, while most teachers in Japan and China were able to offer two or three explanations. http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/formula-written-for-math-success-640962/#ixzz1ym9qos5j

Citation:

Early Predictors of High School Mathematics Achievement
1. Robert S. Siegler1,
2. Greg J. Duncan2,
3. Pamela E. Davis-Kean3,4,
4. Kathryn Duckworth5,
5. Amy Claessens6,
6. Mimi Engel7,
7. Maria Ines Susperreguy3,4 and
8. Meichu Chen4Abstract
Identifying the types of mathematics content knowledge that are most predictive of students’ long-term learning is essential for improving both theories of mathematical development and mathematics education. To identify these types of knowledge, we examined long-term predictors of high school students’ knowledge of algebra and overall mathematics achievement. Analyses of large, nationally representative, longitudinal data sets from the United States and the United Kingdom revealed that elementary school students’ knowledge of fractions and of division uniquely predicts those students’ knowledge of algebra and overall mathematics achievement in high school, 5 or 6 years later, even after statistically controlling for other types of mathematical knowledge, general intellectual ability, working memory, and family income and education. Implications of these findings for understanding and improving mathematics learning are discussed.
1.Published online before print June 14, 2012, doi: 10.1177/0956797612440101 Psychological Science June 14, 2012 0956797612440101

Math is important for a number of reasons.

Michigan State University’s Office of Supportive Services succinctly states why math is important:
Why is math important?

All four year Universities have a math requirement
Math improves your skills:
◦Critical Thinking Skills
◦Deductive Logic and Reasoning Skills
◦Problem Solving Skills
A good knowledge of math and statistics can expand your career options
Physical Sciences – Chemistry, Engineering, Physics
Life and Health Sciences – Biology, Psychology, Pharmacy, Nursing, Optometry
Social Sciences – Anthropology, Communications, Economics, Linquistics, Education, Geography
Technical Sciences – Computer Science, Networking, Software Development
Business and Commerce
Actuarial Sciences
Medicine
http://oss.msu.edu/academic-assistance/why-is-math-important

Young children have the ability to grasp large numbers.

Science Daily reported in the article, Kids Grasp Large Numbers Remarkably Young:

Children as young as 3 understand multi-digit numbers more than previously believed and may be ready for more direct math instruction when they enter school, according to research led by a Michigan State University education scholar.
The study, online in the journal Child Development and funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, has implications for U.S. students who continue losing ground internationally in mathematics performance.
“Contrary to the view that young children do not understand place value and multi-digit numbers, we found that they actually know quite a lot about it,” said Kelly Mix, MSU professor of educational psychology and co-author of the study. “They are more ready than we think when they enter kindergarten.”
Understanding place value is the gateway to higher math skills such as addition with carrying, and there is a strong tie between place value skills in early elementary grades and problem-solving ability later on.
“In short, children who fail to master place value face chronic low achievement in mathematics,” the study states.
In several experiments, Mix and Richard Prather and Linda Smith, both from Indiana University, tested children ages 3 to 7 on their ability to identify and compare two- and three-digit numbers.
In one task, for example, children were shown two quantities (such as 128 and 812) and asked to point out which was larger. “There was significant improvement in interpreting place value from age 3 to 7,” Mix said, “but it was remarkable that even the youngest children showed at least some understanding of multi-digit numbers.”
Mix said the surprising findings are likely due to the fact that children in today’s society are bombarded with multi-digit numbers — from phone numbers to street addresses to price tags.
Interestingly, children may be developing partial knowledge of the place value system at least partly from language, she explained. Children often hear multi-digit numbers named while also seeing them in print, such as when parents comment on a calendar, ask their child to push the elevator buttons or look for a room number in an office building.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131218112914.htm#.UrVMao_ZKxU.email

Citation:

Journal Reference:
1.Kelly S. Mix, Richard W. Prather, Linda B. Smith, Jerri DaSha Stockton. Young Children’s Interpretation of Multidigit Number Names: From Emerging Competence to Mastery. Child Development, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12197
Michigan State University (2013, December 18). Kids grasp large numbers remarkably young. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 21, 2013,

Jonathan Cohn reported about an unprecedented experiment which occurred in Romanian orphanages in the New Republic article, The Two Year Window. There are very few experiments involving humans because of ethical considerations.

Drury, Nelson, and their collaborators are still learning about the orphans. But one upshot of their work is already clear. Childhood adversity can damage the brain as surely as inhaling toxic substances or absorbing a blow to the head can. And after the age of two, much of that damage can be difficult to repair, even for children who go on to receive the nurturing they were denied in their early years. This is a revelation with profound implication—and not just for the Romanian orphans.
APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILLION American infants, toddlers, and preschoolers get care from somebody other than a relative, whether through organized day care centers or more informal arrangements, according to the Census Bureau. And much of that care is not very good. One widely cited study of child care in four states, by researchers in Colorado, found that only 8 percent of infant care centers were of “good” or “excellent” quality, while 40 percent were “poor.” The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has found that three in four infant caregivers provide only minimal cognitive and language stimulation—and that more than half of young children in non-maternal care receive “only some” or “hardly any” positive caregiving. http://www.tnr.com/article/economy/magazine/97268/the-two-year-window?page=0,0&passthru=YzBlNDJmMmRkZTliNDgwZDY4MDhhYmIwMjYyYzhlMjg

Because the ranks of poor children are growing in the U.S., this study portends some grave challenges not only for particular children, but this society and this country. Adequate early learning opportunities and adequate early parenting is essential for proper development in children. https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/jonathan-cohns-the-two-year-window/

Related:

Study: Gender behavior differences lead to higher grades for girls

Study: Gender behavior differences lead to higher grades for girls

Girls and math phobia https://drwilda.com/2012/01/20/girls-and-math-phobia/

University of Missouri study: Counting ability predicts future math ability of preschoolers

University of Missouri study: Counting ability predicts future math ability of preschoolers

Is an individualized program more effective in math learning?

Is an individualized program more effective in math learning?

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©
https://drwilda.com/

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

University of Texas in Arlington study: Bullying prevention programs may have negative effect

14 Oct

Dr. Dianne S. O’Connor lists the following causes of aggressive behavior in children:

• Genetic and/or temperamental influences.
• Insecure or disorganized attachment patterns.
• Ongoing and unrelieved stress.
• Lack of appropriate problem solving and coping strategies.
• Limited experience with role models (e.g. peers, family members, TV. & computer games) who value and provide examples of non-aggressive behaviors.
• Ineffective parenting style: for example, authoritarian, controlling, harsh or coercive parenting style; permissive, overindulgent parenting style; rejecting parenting style; psychological problems in the parent such as depression or alcoholism.
• Poor fit between parent and child: Ineffective parenting could be an effect rather than a cause of the child’s behavior. Children’s problem behaviors may affect parents’ moods and parenting behaviors.
• Family stress, disruption and conflict. http://www.solutionsforchildproblems.com/aggressive-behavior-children.html

There are certain family and social risk factors which should alert educators and social workers that an early intervention may be needed.

Physorg.Com reports about a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study which cites early neglect as a predictor of aggressive behavior in children.

Early child neglect may be as important as child abuse for predicting aggressive behavior, researchers say. Neglect accounts for nearly two-thirds of all child maltreatment cases reported in the United States each year, according to the Administration for Children and Families. http://phys.org/news126764603.html
According to Joan Arehart-Treichel’s article in Psychiatric News, aggression comes in four types. She writes about a study project conducted by He was Henri Parens, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and a training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. “Parens and his colleagues not only met with 10 socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers and their 16 infants twice a week over seven years, but have been following up with the mothers and their offspring ever since.” According to Arehart –Treichel, the four types of aggression are
One was a nondestructive aggression, the kind the 5-month-oldgirl had demonstrated. It is children’s attempt to master themselvesand their environment. “This is a magnificent kind of aggression,”Parens said. It represents the kind that drives youngsters toexcel academically, win at sports, climb mountains, and do fantasticthings with their lives. It is inborn and essential for survivaland adaptation. It is the kind of aggression that parents shouldcultivate.
A second kind of aggression is the urge to obtain food. It toois inborn and essential for survival and adaptation.
A third kind of aggression is displeasure-related aggression(say, a temper tantrum or a rage reaction), and a fourth kindof aggression is pleasure-related aggression (for example, teasingand taunting). Neither is inborn; both are hostile aggression,and both are activated by emotional pain. In other words, hurtinga person’s feelings can generate hostile aggression. That istrue for all people. In contrast, people whose feelings arenot hurt will probably not engage in hostile aggression. http://phys.org/news126764603.html

According to the observations a good deal of the aggression behavior observed in the children in the study was related to how their parents treated them.

PBS has a good description of aggression in boys and what characteristics are normal and not necessarily cause for concern.

Why do boys become aggressive? Sometimes boys are aggressive because they are frustrated or because they want to win. Sometimes they are just angry and can’t find another way to express that feeling. And some may behave aggressively, but they’re not aggressive all the time.
An active boy is not necessarily an aggressive one. “We often see young boys playing out aggressive themes. It’s only a problem when it gets out of control,” comments Thompson.
Competition, power and success are the true stuff of boys’ play. Many young boys see things in competitive terms and play games like “I can make my marble roll faster than yours,” “my tower is taller than yours” and “I can run faster than you.” But these games of power and dominance are not necessarily aggressive unless they are intended to hurt.
Fantasy play is not aggressive. A common boy fantasy about killing bad guys and saving the world is just as normal as a common girl fantasy about tucking in animals and putting them to bed. “Most boys will pick up a pretzel and pretend to shoot with it,” comments teacher Jane Katch. “If a boy is playing a game about super heroes, you might see it as violent. But the way he sees it, he’s making the world safe from the bad guys. This is normal and doesn’t indicate that anything is wrong unless he repeatedly hurts or tries to dominate the friends he plays with. And sometimes an act that feels aggressive to one child was actually intended to be a playful action by the child who did it. When this happens in my class, we talk about it, so one child can understand that another child’s experience may be different than his own. This is the way empathy develops.”
Only a small percentage of boys’ behavior is truly aggressive. While “all boys have normal aggressive impulses which they learn to control, only a small percentage are overly aggressive and have chronic difficulty controlling those impulses,” says Michael Thompson, Ph.D. These are the boys who truly confuse fantasy with reality, and frequently hit, punch, and bully other kids. They have a lack of impulse control and cannot stop themselves from acting out. “They cannot contain their anger and have little control over their physical behavior and this is when intervention by parent or teacher is needed,” says Thompson. http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/aggression02.html

The key point is a lot of behavior, which is normal activity for most boys is not unacceptable aggression and should not trigger the use of medication for behavior which is within the normal range.

Rebecca Klein of Huffington Post reported in the article, Bullying Prevention Programs May Have Negative Impact: Study:

Released in September by the University of Texas in Arlington, the study found that unintended consequences may result from campaigns designed to educate students about the harms of physical and emotional harassment. According to researchers’ findings, bullying prevention programs in schools generally increase incidences of physical and emotional attacks among students by teaching kids about the ins and outs of bulling.
The study’s findings challenge commonly held beliefs about the benefits of bullying prevention programs.
“The schools with interventions say, ‘You shouldn’t do this,’ or ‘you shouldn’t do that.’ But through the programs, the students become highly exposed to what a bully is and they know what to do or say when questioned by parents or teachers,” lead study author Dr. Seokjin Jeong said in a statement released by the university.
Using data from an earlier national study that looked at the well-being of adolescents, researchers found that students in schools with anti-bullying programs are more likely to be victimized. Specifically, they found that male students were more likely to be victims of physical harassment, while girls were more likely to face emotional harassment.
“This study raises an alarm,” Jeong told CBS Dallas. “Usually people expect an anti-bullying program to have some impact — some positive impact.”
Instead, his study recommends that prevention efforts “move beyond individual risk factors and focus on systemic change within the schools.” His report also recommend that researchers “better identify the bully-victim dynamics in order to develop prevention strategies accordingly….”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/10/bullying-prevention-programs-impact_n_4080328.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share

Citation:

Journal Article
A Multilevel Examination of Peer Victimization and Bullying Preventions in Schools
J Journal of Criminology
V 2013
A Jeong, Seokjin
A Lee, Byung Hyun
R 10.1155/2013/735397
D 2013
U http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/735397
735397
P 10

Here is the press release from the University of Texas at Arlington:

NEWS CENTER
Youth more likely to be bullied at schools with anti-bullying programs, UT Arlington researcher finds
Anti-bullying initiatives have become standard at schools across the country, but a new UT Arlington study finds that students attending those schools may be more likely to be a victim of bullying than children at schools without such programs.
The findings run counter to the common perception that bullying prevention programs can help protect kids from repeated harassment or physical and emotional attacks.
“One possible reason for this is that the students who are victimizing their peers have learned the language from these anti-bullying campaigns and programs,” said Seokjin Jeong, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at UT Arlington and lead author of the study, which was published in the Journal of Criminology.
“The schools with interventions say, ‘You shouldn’t do this,’ or ‘you shouldn’t do that.’ But through the programs, the students become highly exposed to what a bully is and they know what to do or say when questioned by parents or teachers,”Jeong said.
The study suggested that future direction should focus on more sophisticated strategies rather than just implementation of bullying prevention programs along with school security measures such as guards, bag and locker searches or metal detectors. Furthermore, given that bullying is a relationship problem, researchers need to better identify the bully-victim dynamics in order to develop prevention policies accordingly, Jeong said.
Communities across various race, ethnicity, religion and socio-economic classes can benefit from such important, relevant Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice research, said Beth Wright, dean of the UT Arlington College of Liberal Arts.
“This important discovery will result in improvements in health, in learning, and in relationships, with unlimited positive impact,” Wright said.
A growing body of research shows that students who are exposed to physical or emotional bullying experience a significantly increased risk of anxiety, depression, confusion, lowered self-esteem and suicide. In addition to school environmental factors, researchers wanted to know what individual-level factors played a key role in students who are bullied by peers in school.
For their study, Jeong and his co-author, Byung Hyun Lee, a doctoral student in criminology at Michigan State University, analyzed data from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children 2005-2006 U.S. study. The HBSC study has been conducted every four years since 1985 and is sponsored by the World Health Organization. The sample consisted of 7,001 students, ages 12 to 18, from 195 different schools.
The data preceded the highly publicized, 2010 “It Gets Better” campaign founded by syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage and popularized by YouTube videos featuring anti-bullying testimonials from prominent advocates.
The UT Arlington team found that older students were less likely to be victims of bullying than younger students, with serious problems of bullying occurring among sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. The most pervasive bullying occurred at the high school level.
Boys were more likely than girls to be victims of physical bullying, but girls were more likely to be victims of emotional bullying. A lack of involvement and support from parents and teachers was likely to increase the risk of bullying victimization. These findings are all consistent with prior studies.
Notably, researchers found that race or ethnicity was not a factor in whether students were bullied.
The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research institution of more than 33,000 students and more than 2,200 faculty members in the heart of North Texas. It is the second largest institution in The University of Texas System. Visit http://www.uta.edu to learn more.
###
The University of Texas at Arlington is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer.

The American Academy of Pediatricians has the following suggestions for dealing with aggressive behavior for most children

The best way to prevent aggressive behavior is to give your child a stable, secure home life with firm, loving discipline and full-time supervision during the toddler and preschool years. …

Self control

Your youngster has little natural self-control. He needs you to teach him not to kick, hit, or bite when he is angry, but instead to express his feelings through words. It’s important for him to learn the difference between real and imagined insults and between appropriately standing up for his rights and attacking out of anger.

Supervision

The best way to teach these lessons is to supervise your child carefully when he’s involved in disputes with his playmates. …

Your example
To avoid or minimize “high-risk” situations, teach your child ways to deal with his anger without resorting to aggressive behavior. Teach him to say “no” in a firm tone of voice, to turn his back, or to find compromises instead of fighting with his body. …

Discipline

If you must discipline him, do not feel guilty about it and certainly don’t apologize. If he senses your mixed feelings, he may convince himself that he was in the right all along and you are the “bad” one…

When to call the pediatrician

If your child seems to be unusually aggressive for longer than a few weeks, and you cannot cope with his behavior on your own, consult your pediatrician. Other warning signs include:
• Physical injury to himself or others (teeth marks, bruises, head injuries)
• Attacks on you or other adults
• Being sent home or barred from play by neighbors or school
• Your own fear for the safety of those around him….

The pediatrician or other mental health specialist will interview both you and your child and may observe your youngster in different situations (home, preschool, with adults and other children). A behavior management program will be outlined. Not all methods work on all children, so there will be a certain amount of trial and reassessment…http://www.healthychildren.org/english/ages-stages/toddler/pages/Aggressive-Behavior.aspx

Dr Joan Simeo Munson has some good suggestions about how to deal with aggressive behavior in young children http://www.empoweringparents.com/author_display.php?auth=Dr.-Joan-Simeo-Munson

According to Leo J. Bastiaens, MD and Ida K. Bastiaens in their article about youth aggression in the Psychiatric Times, http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/youth-aggression-economic-impact-causes-prevention-and-treatment?verify=0 one of the treatment options is medication. For some children medication works and helps them to control their aggressive tendencies. Probably, more children are medicated than need to be, but the decision to use medication is highly individual and should be made in conjunction with health care providers. A second or even a third opinion may be necessary. NYU’s Child Study Center has an excellent Guide to Psychiatric Medicine for Children and Adolescents http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/guide_psychiatric_medications_children_adolescents Mary E. Muscari, PhD, CPNP, APRN-BC,CFNS Professor, Director of Forensic Health/Nursing, University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania; Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Psychological Clinical Specialist, Forensic Clinical Specialist, Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania writes at Medscape.Com about pharmacotherapy for adolescents

Before prescribing medication therapy for aggression, the clinician should ensure that the patient has a medical evaluation to rule out contraindications to treatment and to determine whether the patient’s aggressive symptoms might improve with appropriate medical care. Psychiatric evaluation is also necessary to determine whether psychosis, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or other problems are present. Treatment of these conditions may also result in reduced symptoms of aggression. Nonpharmacologic measures should be instituted; however, when pharmacologic treatment is warranted, institute treatment with an antiaggression medication that best fits the patient’s symptom cluster. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/545247

Medication should not be a first resort, but is an acceptable option after a thorough evaluation of all treatment options has been made.

Aggressive behavior can be costly for the child and society if the child’s behavior is not modified. At least one study has found preventative intervention is effective

E. Michael Foster, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Damon Jones, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, in conjunction with the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, examined the cost effectiveness of the NIMH-funded Fast Track program, a 10-year intervention designed to reduce aggression among at-risk children….
Previous results showed that among children moderately at risk for conduct disorder, there were no significant differences in outcomes between the intervention group and the control group. However, among the high-risk group, fewer than half as many cases of conduct disorder were diagnosed in the intervention group as in the control group. These results were extended in the current paper to consider also the cost effectiveness of providing the early intervention. By weighing the costs of the intervention relative to the costs of crime and delinquency found among the study participants, the researchers concluded that this early prevention program was cost-effective in reducing conduct disorder and delinquency, but only for those who were very high-risk as young children. http://www.4therapy.com/news/also-news/targeted-preventive-interventions-most-aggressive-children-2747

As with many problems, the key is early diagnosis and intervention with appropriate treatment. Purposeful harm to another person is never acceptable.

Related:

Dr. Wilda Reviews: children’s book: ‘Bully Bean’

Dr. Wilda Reviews: children’s book: ‘Bully Bean’

Kids need to tell teachers and schools when they are bullied

Kids need to tell teachers and schools when they are bullied

Duke University study: Bullying has life-long effects

Duke University study: Bullying has life-long effects

Massachusetts Aggression Center study: Cyberbullying and elementary school children

Massachusetts Aggression Center study: Cyberbullying and elementary school children

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©

http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©

http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©

https://drwilda.com/

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,