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Relative to the randomized controlled trial (RCT), the basic regression discontinuity (RD) design suffers from lower statistical power and lesser ability to generalize causal estimates away from the treatment eligibility cutoff. This chapter seeks to mitigate these limitations by adding an untreated outcome comparison function that is measured along all or most of the assignment variable. When added to the usual treated and untreated outcomes observed in the basic RD, a comparative RD (CRD) design results. One version of CRD adds a pretest measure of the study outcome (CRD-Pre); another adds posttest outcomes from a nonequivalent comparison group (CRD-CG). We describe how these designs can be used to identify unbiased causal effects away from the cutoff under the assumption that a common, stable functional form describes how untreated outcomes vary with the assignment variable, both in the basic RD and in the added outcomes data (pretests or a comparison group’s posttest). We then create the two CRD designs using data from the National Head Start Impact Study, a large-scale RCT. For both designs, we find that all untreated outcome functions are parallel, which lends support to CRD’s identifying assumptions. Our results also indicate that CRD-Pre and CRD-CG both yield impact estimates at the cutoff that have a similarly small bias as, but are more precise than, the basic RD’s impact estimates. In addition, both CRD designs produce estimates of impacts away from the cutoff that have relatively little bias compared to estimates of the same parameter from the RCT design. This common finding appears to be driven by two different mechanisms. In this instance of CRD-CG, potential untreated outcomes were likely independent of the assignment variable from the start. This was not the case with CRD-Pre. However, fitting a model using the observed pretests and untreated posttests to account for the initial dependence generated an accurate prediction of the missing counterfactual. The result was an unbiased causal estimate away from the cutoff, conditional on this successful prediction of the untreated outcomes of the treated.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impacts of impregnation with Imersol Aqua to red colour tone (RCT) of some softwood materials and varnishes.

For this purpose, test samples prepared from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris Lipsky), Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis Link) and Uludağ fir (Abies Bornmülleriana Mattf.), which met the requirements of ASTM D 358, were impregnated with Imersol Aqua by short‐term, medium‐term and long‐term immersion techniques in accordance with ASTM D 1413 and producer's definition. After impregnation, surfaces were coated by synthetic, acrylic, water‐based and polyurathane varnishes in accordance with ASTM D 3023 standards. RCT values of samples after varnishing process were determined in accordance with ASTM D 2244.

It was found that RCT was the highest in Scots pine, long‐term dipping and synthetic varnish, and the lowest in Uludağ fir, short‐term dipping and water‐borne varnish. Considering the interaction of wood type, period of impregnation and type of varnish, RCT was the highest in pine, short term of dipping and acrylic varnish and the lowest in Oriental spruce, short term of dipping and synthetic varnish. So, impregnation process, impregnation period and varnishes applied during tests showed increasing impact for RCT value of Scots pine, Oriental spruce and Uludağ fir woods. This result must be taken into care in manufacture of wooden furniture and construction elements where RCT is important.

The endurance of the protective coating (such as varnish) to external effects is limited and the lifetime of the coating is determined by the type and the severity of the effects to which it is exposed.

The impact of varnish type, wood material type and impregnation chemical on RCT can determine the usefulness of the massive wood materials where RCT values are important.

It is conjectured that especially for the manufacturers and consumers in the furniture, construction and decoration sector, the data obtained in this study will contribute to the making up of the deficiencies in the understanding of the subject.

This study aims to investigate the potential moderating effect of the average annual ambient temperature in 24 European countries on the relationship between criminal thinking (reactive vs proactive) and juvenile offending (violent vs property).

The average annual ambient temperatures found in 24 European countries were correlated with measures of reactive vs proactive criminal thinking and violent vs property offending in 56,518 students (50.4% female) from the second International Self-Reported Delinquency Study. These data were analyzed using a multilevel model comprising three Level 1 (student) predictors – age, sex and family structure – one Level 2 (country) predictor – ambient temperature – and two outcome measures – a reactive: proactive criminal thinking index (RPI) and a violent: property offending index (VPI).

The RPI and VPI correlated significantly with the Level 1 predictors, and the annual ambient temperatures from these 24 countries (Level 2 predictor) correlated positively with RPI and VPI and moderated the effect of reactive criminal thinking (RCT) on violent offending.

These findings indicate that ambient temperature correlates with violent/aggressive offending after the effects of property/non-aggressive offending have been controlled and suggest that ambient temperature may moderate the relationship between RCT and violent offending by affecting the decision-making process.

The contribution made by this study to the literature is that it illustrates how a macro-level influence in the form of average annual temperature can impact on micro-level processes in the form of criminal thinking and violent behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an emic view of how one researcher negotiated complex relationships in teacher education research and learned to employ the principles of the relational cultural theory (RCT) to create a research design aimed at building and sustaining relationships with participants.

The authors offer illustrative qualitative data examples from teacher education research to highlight complexities in research relationships, essential elements of the RCT, and the affordances RCT can offer qualitative researchers invested in similar work.

By engaging pre-service teachers and ourselves as mutually engaged in this process, the authors put into practice a sense of community and relationship building the authors hope pre-service teachers will practice with their future students.

This paper provides a qualitative research design employing tenets of the RCT which centers relationships as critical to the research process. The authors offer affordances and limitations to using the RCT in research.

Several affordances are offered to researchers interested in engaging in similar work.

This paper offers an original perspective of how one researcher in teacher education negotiated complex relationships and learned to employ the principles of the RCT within these to build a research design aimed at widening research and practice in teacher education through productive and lasting relationships.

This paper aims to consider the use of relational cultural theory (RCT) as an underlying, processual orientation for teaching with those who are living and learning at the intersection of multiple, marginalised identities.

The concept of intersectionality is defined, and key characteristics of intersectional approaches are described. The criticality of teaching for intersectionality-related social justice goals involving inclusion, engagement, mattering, empowerment and critical inquiry as foundations for critical praxis is identified. Consideration is given to the viability of RCT as an underlying orientation for teaching with students who live and learn at the intersection of multiple, marginalised identities.

RCT is consonant with key characteristics of intersectional approaches, including rejection of essentialist perspectives; recognising the roles of power in creating, maintaining and legitimising interlocking marginalisations; retaining race as a critical point of intersectional analysis and practice; recognising the validity of insights obtained from non-dominant standpoints; and working to fulfill social justice goals. Practical guidelines from RCT that support social justice goals include facilitating student voice within a context of radical respect; use of “disruptive empathy”; attending to particular experiences within the context of systemic power dynamics; using co-active “power with” versus “power over” students; relying on mutuality and fluid expertise; and reframing student resistance.

This paper provides a foundational overview of the history, nature and uses of RCT as an underlying processual orientation when teaching across diverse academic disciplines for students who live and learn at the intersection of multiple marginalised identities. Detailed case studies involving the application of RCT, including those involving teacher self-reflection would be useful.

Guidelines are provided for the practical application of RCT when teaching for intersectionality across diverse academic disciplines.

RCT supports the intersectionality-related social justice goals of inclusion, engagement, mattering, empowerment and critical inquiry as foundations for critical praxis.

Intersectional pedagogies have been associated with positive attitudinal, intentional and behavioural outcomes. However, despite some notable exceptions, intersectional pedagogies are still absent in most academic disciplines. This paper provides practical guidance on the use of RCT as an underlying processual orientation when teaching for intersectionality across diverse academic disciplines.

Rural community tourism (RCT) represents an experience of community-based tourism where local population retains control over the process and the bulk of benefits. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the study of successful RCT experiences in Nicaragua to enlarge the literature of tourism sustainability.

Applying the resource-based theory of the firm to tourism, the paper defines a theoretical framework where local resources and capabilities combined through organization and strategic actions result in competitive advantages at the community level reinforcing its sustainable dimension. The model is tested empirically through Structural Equation Modelling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) modelling for Nicaraguan RCT experiences.

Main findings show a good performance of empirical results, with the community dimension representing the cornerstone of the RCT project. Results remark how the presence of community tangible and intangible resources and capabilities are combined and exploited in tourism initiatives through strategies that put the preservation of the community as the central objective. This process leads to the emergence of competitive advantages that promote the sustainability of the community lifestyle, ensuring a durable approach of the rural tourism initiatives. Other interesting findings show how this type of RCT projects also promote the integration of weak rural collectives, like women and young people, or the pivotal cooperation emerging between public and private actors.

The paper provides a novel framework to better understand some of the key pieces ensuring the sustainability of tourism initiatives. This theoretical setting has been applied to the case of rural areas at developing countries but could be enlarged to other contexts at developed countries having to deal with mass tourism and important related negative impacts of these activities. In sum, the main value of the paper is to provide a framework helping to identify the context that is needed to implement successful sustainable tourism experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss both the early implementation of a US mental health intervention for young children in the context of its introduction to a pilot site in a London borough and the progress made in establishing a randomised controlled trial (RCT).

This paper describes an evaluation of a new intervention and the learning that followed in terms of its implementation and future evaluation. Qualitative data were collected from a range of stakeholders and practitioners through interviews and small group discussions. These interviews focussed on both of these issues, with particular reference to the proposal to conduct an RCT.

The findings of this evaluation add to the evidence on how best to support new initiatives that have been introduced from other settings and countries to embed in a receiving site and the optimal timing and feasibility of conducting an RCT. At the end of the feasibility study, which took place within the year of the service being introduced and which was only open to clients for six months of this year the conclusion was that an RCT at that point was neither possible nor desirable. Over the following years, the commitment of the judiciary to examine if there was a way to make an RCT study in respect of this intervention meant that a template was established that may well have broader application.

At a time when there is an increasing demand for evidence on effective interventions this paper makes a valuable contribution to the development of RCTs in general and specifically in the family court arena. It also recommends that attention must also be paid to the time, which is needed to implement and establish interventions and then to test them.

This paper highlights the need to establish realistic timescales not only around the implementation of initiatives but also for their evaluation.

This study breaks new ground in considering implementation challenges in the court and children’s services’ context. It brings to the fore the important role of the judiciary in approving new processes.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the implications of relational cultural theory (RCT) for mentoring individuals who have enacted moral courage.

Overviews of the construct of moral courage, the nature of work-related mentoring and RCT are provided. Subsequently, the relevance and implications of RCT for understanding moral courage-related suffering, and for supporting the growth, resilience and vitality of those who have enacted moral courage are discussed.

Within RCT, moral courage-related suffering is located in disconnection, invalidation and isolation for which sufferers also feel held at fault. Self-protective behaviors, including disavowal of self, can perpetuate this suffering.

Five insights from RCT for supporting the growth, resilience and vitality of individuals following acts of moral courage are elaborated, including affirming efforts to activate supportive relationships; demonstrating “radical respect”; facilitating voice; engaging through mutuality and fluid expertise; and, reframing resilience.

The dearth of attention to ways of supporting those who suffer following acts of moral courage reflects previously documented findings about the short-shrift given to issues of human health and sustainability in organizations and organizational research. Implications for policy, practice and education are described.

This paper extends the RCT perspective in mentoring, and addresses an important gap in the moral courage literature, namely, the identification of a theoretically grounded approach through which to support the growth, resilience and vitality of individuals who have enacted moral courage.

This paper aims to evaluate how places approach the promotion of local food products and what it means to produce, consume and support local produce in a rural region.

The study uses a participatory action-reflective approach through a series of three focus groups held over consecutive weeks with nine participants. This included local food producers, artists and community members, with data collected through focus group discussions, reflective video diaries and a questionnaire. The research was conducted in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, a region with entrepreneurial potential but lacking a reputation for food.

Findings demonstrate confused perceptions of local identity, leading to a clichéd image of the region. As such, an origin brand may do little to enhance the value of local produce or increase economic prosperity in places that lack an established identity. Places with a more recognised reputation for food, such as Wales, could benefit from an origin brand, similar to Brittany.

The study extends the academic understanding of place branding by investigating the value of using origin branding in promoting food products. The context of a lesser-known region highlights the importance of awareness and reputation for the successful implementation of the brand. Additionally, the unique community-led action-reflective methodology provides a holistic model in exploring the effective development of the brand.

In this chapter, we first describe the all governing principles of treatment for sexual offenders that maximise effectiveness. These are derived from Andrews and Bonta's (2006) summary of a variety of meta-analyses of outcome studies. From this source and others, we then claim that there are three elements essential to effective treatment: (1) targeting criminogenic features; (2) employing empirically sound procedures to modify these targets; and (3) delivering treatment in an effective psychotherapeutic way. Next we describe our treatment approach that emphasises these crucial elements within a strength-based programme that is motivational and provides Ward's (2002) Good Lives Model as the framework. We then challenge the broadly accepted idea that the Random Controlled Trial (RCT) is the only basis upon which inferences about treatment effectiveness can be derived. We point to methodological, practical and ethical problems associated with implementing an RCT study and offer at least two alternatives: the so-called ‘incidental design’ which compares the outcome of the treated group with a matched (but not randomly assigned) group from the same or similar setting to the treated group; and a strategy where the recidivism rate of treated group is compared with what would be expected on the basis of risk assessments of each of the treated subjects.