Research in progress

This paper aims to reintroduce the Research in Progress section to the journal and to call for suitable contributions. The recent literature on research production and utilisation in social work is briefly reviewed. Summaries of research in progress, or longer contributions will be accepted from research workers, research students, social work teachers, practice teachers, academics in related disciplines, and from social work practitioners and managers.     

Research in progress

Current proposals for reorganising social work training concentrate too heavily upon initial qualifying training. The greater need is to devise a system for career long development and performance monitoring related to credentials associated with training, experience and responsibilities. Many American states have certification regulations governing social work. Adaptation of such schemes to Britain would have advantages for both public and social workers and could be incorporated into present proposals for the reorganisation of training. A structure is proposed charged with responsibility for monitoring all professional development. Training beyond the initial would become obligatory and reduce the unreasonable expectations placed upon basic training for career long competence.     

Research in progress. Social work and racial prejudice: A quasi-experimental model to promote multicultural attitudes

The aim of this paper is to present the results of the first pilot study of the EUROSUR model in Spain. Theoretically based on Banks intercultural holistic approach (1986; 1989) and Alegret's anti-racism (1992), this heuristic model provides anti-racist social work education with an innovative design and methodology. The results show that, through EUROSUR, young people are more aware of the immigration process and therefore develop interpersonal actions to help immigrants. In diesem Aufsatz sollen die Ergebnisse des ersten Pilotstudie des ERUOSUR-Modelles in Spanien vorgestellt werden. Unter theoretischem Rückbezug auf ganzheitlich-interkulturelle (Banks 1986; 1989) sowie anti-rassistische Ansätze (Alegret 1992) stellt dieses heuristische Konzept einen sowohl in Design als auch Methodologie innovativen Ansatz der Ausbildung von Sozialarbeitern dar. Die Ergebnisse lassen erkennen, daßjunge Menschen durch EUROSUR zu einer bewußteren Wahrnehmung des Migrationsprozesses gleangen und und in der Folge Aktionen entwickeln, um Migranten zu Unterstützen. El objetivo del artículo es presentar los resultados del primer estudio piloto del modelo EUROSUR en España. Consiste en un modelo heurístico teóricamente basado en el enfoque holístico intercultural de Banks (1986, 1989) y el enfoque antirracista de Alegret (1992), que aporta un diseño y una metodología novedosa para el Trabajo Social Antirracista desde el sistema educativo. Los resultados indican que a través del modelo EUROSUR se incrementa el conocimiento de los jóvenes acerca del proceso de inmigración y se activan conductas interpersonales de auyda a los inmigrantes.     

Rebound effects of progress in information technology

Information technology (IT) is continuously making astounding progress in technical efficiency. The time, space, material and energy needed to provide a unit of IT service have decreased by three orders of magnitude since the first personal computer (PC) was sold. However, it seems difficult for society to translate IT’s efficiency progress into progress in terms of individual, organizational or socio-economic goals. In particular it seems to be difficult for individuals to work more efficiently, for organizations to be more productive and for the socio-economic system to be more sustainable by using increasingly efficient IT. This article provides empirical evidence and potential explanations for this problem. Many counterproductive effects of IT can be explained economically by rebound effects. Beyond that, we conclude that the technological determinism adopted by decision-makers is the main obstacle in translating IT’s progress into non-technical goals.

发展中国家城市化的新进展

尽管城镇已经存在了几千年,但到1800年,居住在城市地区的人口仍不足世界人口的3%;到1950年该比例在27%左右,目前所谓的大多数发达国家当时已为城市所主导.可以粗略地认为,1950年以前,城市化发展局限在发达国家.1950年以来,由于发展中国家城市化的发展,城市化成为一种世界性的现象,城市即将成为世界聚落的主导.发展中国家的城市化问题是目前国际城市化研究的重点所在.     

Therapeutic alliance and treatment progress in couple psychotherapy

This study examined the ability of the therapeutic alliance to predict treatment progress on individual- and relationship-level variables from the early to middle phase of couple treatment. Although alliance did not predict progress in individual functioning, it accounted for 5-22% of the variance in improvement in marital distress. Women's mid-treatment alliance uniquely predicted improvement in marital distress, over and above early treatment alliance. When men's alliances with the therapist were stronger than their partners' at session 8, couples showed more improvement in marital distress. Treatment response was also positively associated with women's ratings of their partners' alliance. Results confirm that the therapeutic alliance in conjoint treatment is composed of distinct client subsystems that are useful predictors of treatment progress.     

A critique of progress in adolescent smoking prevention

Researchers have developed a number of programs for preventing adolescent smoking. This critique evaluated a cross-section of 12 of these programs. The majority demonstrated short-term effectiveness in reducing the onset of smoking. The studies stressed three common themes: information about smoking's physiological and social effects, skills to cope with peer and advertising pressures, and the modification of attitudes. Despite many positive outcomes in reducing smoking, the studies did not clearly establish whether the interventions did so by imparting coping skills or by modifying attitudes. This leaves in doubt the exact processes that influence smoking behavior. Carbon monoxide and thiocyanate analyses have not been established as alternatives to self-report, as these methods prove unreliable with adolescent populations. Due to the lack of longitudinal studies, the long-term effectiveness of these interventions remains undetermined.     

A work in progress: the metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome refers to a constellation of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. They include elevated plasma glucose concentrations, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and abdominal obesity. These conditions typically occur during middle age or later in life. Although there is no clear consensus on the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, it is a potentially important entity to recognize and manage once traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, have been treated individually. This Perspective summarizes our current knowledge of the metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle change, including diet and exercise, is probably the best available option for treating the metabolic syndrome. However, rigorous lifestyle interventions are difficult to implement outside of a clinical trial setting, especially among elderly patients.     

Why sociology doesn't make progress

Stephen Cole's claim regarding certain differences between sociology and physics, and the conclusions he draws regarding the future of sociology, are discussed here. A brief comment on Randall Collins' view is also included.     

论技术进步对能源消费反弹的影响

在所有节能减排的政策中,旨在提高能源效率的技术手段备受青睐。然而,技术进步在降低能源消耗、减少温室气体排放的同时,也会造成能源消耗反弹,能源反弹效应的存在会部分甚至完全抵消技术进步所带来的能源节约。因此,单纯地依靠技术手段无法有效地降低能源消耗,解决能源约束问题,需要在提高能源使用效率的同时配合其他政策手段。     

Preventing rural child abuse: progress in spite of cutbacks

Professionals in a rural community started a service delivery program not in spite of, but because of, economic distress, to counteract the increase in child abuse caused by economic depression. Public education is shown to be a necessary tool in the establishment of new services.     

The relative economic progress of male foreign workers in Kuwait

"A human capital framework is utilized to examine the economic progress of nine nationality groups of foreign workers [in Kuwait] using data from the 1983 national Labor Survey. The sources of earnings' variations of particular interest to us included different degrees of education and experience transferability, occupational affiliation and ethnic background. In general, the results derived from the analysis suggest that 1) foreign workers achieve a discernible economic progress as their residence lengthens; 2) the rate of economic progress varies depending on worker's education, home and Kuwait-specific experience, occupational status and ethnic background; and 3) about one third of the earnings inequality is due to unexplained factors including discrimination."     

Drinking, socioemotional functioning, and academic progress in secondary school

Secondary schools are sites of academic instruction but also contexts of socioemotional development, and the intertwining of these two functions has consequences for adolescents' future health and education. Drawing on nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 8,271), this study explored the bidirectional associations among indicators of adolescents' alcohol use and their feelings of social integration at school. Socioemotional problems did not predict increased drinking over time, but drinking predicted declining socioemotional functioning, with negative implications for adolescents' academic grades by the end of high school. These associations, however, were conditioned by aspects of school context, with drinkers feeling more marginalized in schools characterized by dense networks with low rates of drinking.