Issues in Portability of Evidence-based Treatment for Adolescent Depression

Depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders among school-aged youth, with high prevalence and far-reaching consequences. However, even though there are two evidence-based practices for treating adolescent depression (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy), most adolescents referred for treatment are unlikely to receive either. In part, this is due to the difficulty of transporting an evidence-based practice from laboratory to real-world setting, and determining how to transport an empirically validated treatment has thus become a focus of concern for social work researchers and practitioners. A host of client, clinician, setting, and treatment delivery variables can influence portability. Taking all these factors into consideration is a daunting task—but less daunting if done at the onset, during the initial process of efficacy research, rather than afterward as a separate stage. The thesis of this paper is that the only solution to the problem of portability is a combined, rather than sequential, approach to treatment development in which effectiveness and application concerns are included in the original research design. A review of suggested approaches, as well as discussion of factors that contribute to variance in outcome, is followed by recommendations for future research.     

The Quality of Life in Some Local Metropolitan Labour Markets in Italy

This study forms part of a general programme of territorial research in Italy developed by the Italian National Statistical Institute (ISTAT). In particular we have studied the metropolitan communes, both with regard to movements within the city and to the attraction cities exert over the communes in the surrounding areas. Based on the daily work-related flows, we have identified the Local Labour Systems (LLSs). The LLSs having as their hub the twelve metropolitan communes constitute the Local Metropolitan Systems (LMSs). Among these we have chosen to analyse in detail the quality of life in the Systems of Milan, Genoa and Palermo, which have been singled out as exemplary cases of current socio-economic differentiations.     

Gendering the Management of Change in Higher Education: A Case Study

This article reports an investigation into the influence of gender at a pre-1992 UK university. Interviews with Heads of Departments and others defined as occupying ‘middle management’ positions reveal three distinct stances to the new higher education, of ‘collaboration’, ‘resistance’ and ‘transformation’ and the article explores how gender influences these stances. It attempts to move beyond a simple focus on gender differences, towards answering Bacchi's (1990) call for ‘a more useful political analysis (which) would draw attention to the way in which the current economic system encourages certain behaviours and discourages others’. It shows that women academics are taking a transformational stance, but that the stances are not gender-specific. Gender is institutionally embedded with other organizational characteristics, such as academic discipline, departmental size, compatibility with external commercial activity, and the ability or otherwise to generate funds. Questions are raised about the contribution of such stances to the future of the new educational order.     

CALIBRATING MEASURES OF FAMILY ACTIVITIES BETWEEN LARGE- AND SMALL-SCALE DATA SETS

Two studies of working families are combined to demonstrate a strategy for producing reliable estimates from the combination of self-reported (large N) and observational (small N) data. Both studies examine where and how dual-career families spend time at home. The 500 Family Study is sociological and uses self-reported time diary data from a national sample; the CELF study is anthropological and uses observational scan sampling data from a regional sample of 32 families. The data are combined as if they constitute one sample, and an analytic solution for establishing the reliability of the resulting composite estimates of time use is provided. Merging the data sets provides validation for each study, neither of which is without potential methodological weaknesses. The advantages of combining data from the independent data collection methods are discussed, and selected substantive findings on families' activities are highlighted, illustrating similarities and differences between findings in the independent and combined data sets. Results show that working families spend significant time in a small spectrum of home spaces, particularly kitchens and living rooms, with leisure activities prevailing, but mothers, fathers, and children differ in where and how they spend their time. Overall, a template for merging data from different disciplines and methods is provided.     

Ingesting the organization: The embodiment of organizational food rituals

This exploratory paper asks: ‘how do organizational food and drink rituals shape, reflect or create organizational culture?’ Adopting an embodied approach based on Merleau-Ponty's [1945. Phenomenology of Perception. Translated by C. Smith, 2003. London: Penguin. New York: Routledge] phenomenological work, this paper explores the significance of food-based rituals. Data were collected from different organizations using mixed methods and an embodied, reflexive approach – which is relatively novel in organizational research. Embodied experiences are potent, and this paper proposes that workplace food and drink rituals can powerfully influence perceptions of organizational culture. The unique contribution is in showing how embodied organizational rituals create and sustain organizational culture by using the pre-reflective moment of food ingestion to shape cognitive reconstructions of organizational culture. However, food rituals can be controlled and shaped by the organization to specifically influence employee perceptions of organizational culture. Control of food rituals can be perceived as a deliberate effort to create a constructive culture and encourage reciprocity through employee loyalty and effort.     

Relationships Between Social-Emotional Intelligence and Sexual Risk Behaviors in Adolescent Girls

Social-emotional intelligence (SEI) has been linked with a number of health behaviors in adolescent populations. However, little is known about the influence of SEI on sexual behavior. This study examined associations between three indicators of SEI (intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, stress management skills) and adolescent girls’ sexual risk behaviors. Data come from a cross-sectional sample of sexually active adolescent girls (ages 13 to 17 years) at high risk for pregnancy (N = 253), recruited from health care clinics in a Midwest metropolitan area during 2007 and 2008. Results of multivariable regression models controlling for participants’ age and race/ethnicity indicated that each aspect of SEI was related to distinct sexual risk behaviors. Specifically, girls with greater intrapersonal skills had significantly fewer male sex partners in the past six months (b = ?0.16). Participants with greater interpersonal skills reported earlier communication with their sexual partner about sexual risk (b = 0.14), and those with a better ability to manage stress reported more consistent condom use (b = 0.31). Study findings suggest that SEI may provide a protective buffer against sexual risk behaviors. Building adolescent girls’ social and emotional skills may be an effective strategy for reducing their risk for early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.