Planned Change and Contract Negotiation as an Instructional Model

To facilitate integration of the concepts of a purposeful planned change process and contract negotiation as integral parts of social work practice, a teaching model was developed whereby students were asked to design and implement a change process through the use of contracts with the instructor. The student as client system established change goals appropriate to beginning practice experience, negotiated a contract to reach these goals, and engaged in a change relationship with the instructor as change agent.

The use of this teaching model gave clear indication of students' understanding and integration of the planned change process and components of contracting for actual implementation in practice efforts.     

中国与海湾六国的工程承包合作

在全球化背景下对中国工程承包企业海外经营的国际环境进行深入研究,是实施“走出去”战略的一项基础性工作。海湾六国是全球最大的工程承包市场,也是中国国际工程承包的重点地区。然而,海湾六国工程承包市场准入壁垒较高,不利于中国企业发挥后发优势。本文对中国与海湾六国工程承包合作研究主要论及市场准入壁垒、地缘安全环境、跨文化交际等问题,并据此利用SWOT分析模型对中国工程承包企业到海湾六国经营提出相关政策性建议。     

A Stimulus Control Model of Change in Behavioral Couples' Therapy: Implications for Contingency Contracting

Although contingency contracting is a popular strategy for use in treating distressed relationships, there is no direct evidence of its efficacy. A stimulus control model of change in behavioral couples' therapy states that the conditions under which an agreement was negotiated, regardless of the consequences specified in the agreement itself, are the primary determinants of whether the agreement is upheld. Once change is prompted, its maintenance is associated with stimuli generated by the negotiating session itself (that is, self-statements) and contingencies provided by concurrent changes occurring in therapy. Therefore, it is argued that explicit contingency contracting is unnecessary, and in fact contraindicated, for reasons which are elaborated. Hypotheses are offered which provide indirect tests of this model of change in behavioral couples' therapy .     

The Therapeutic Potential for Growth During the Termination Process

The authors explore the potential for growth through the termination process via a case study of a 15-year-old inner city girl who was being treated in a psychiatric day treatment center at a municipal hospital. The client was diagnosed as having a schizo-affective disorder and had a history of suicidal ideation and three psychiatric hospitalizations. Through the termination process she was able to maintain, consolidate, and integrate the growth she had made during the earlier stages of the treatment process. The authors also explore the particular dynamics of forced termination within the context of a day treatment setting.     

Specifying and facilitating family involvement in services to persons with developmental disabilities

This paper recognizes the important role of family involvement in services to people with developmental disabilities. The paper presents a conceptualization of involvement that was an outcome of a qualitative study of involvement from the perspective of family members themselves. The authors identify a framework of family involvement the composition of which incorporates four system levels (i.e. the individual, program/agency, community, society) and the five role opportunities for family members (i.e. treatment agent, planner, advocate, evaluator, and consultant/educator). Barriers to involvement are then delineated and the authors autline a process for promoting family involvement: 1) contracting for involvement; 2) developing a support system for involvement; and 3) monitoring and evaluating involvement.Presented at the Fourth Annual Conference of The Michigan Chapter, National Association of Social Workers, May 14, 1988. Grand Rapids Michigan.The writing of this paper was supported in part by a research stimulation grant awarded to the authors by Wayne State University. Portions of this article are included in an extensive research report in Epstein, I and Grasso, A. Editors,Research Utilization in Social Work, Wayne State Univesity Press, in Press.     

Implications of Recent Research on Eastern European Adoptees for Social Work Practice

Social workers engaged in preparing and supporting families that adopt non-infants and sibling groups from Russia and other Eastern European countries need to be well-versed in: (1) the issues that affect this population of adoptees and adopters; and (2) the recent research on both. They also need to expand the model of adoptive families that drives their work. The authors identify three areas of risk to successful older-child adoptee and adoptive family functioning, explore the consequences of detrimental adoption policies and practices on the micro and macro-levels, and make recommendations for needed changes. The changes the authors identify are framed through an investigation of recent research on international adoptees and their adoptive families. The authors use adoptive parents’ own words to make the issues they discuss more concrete. Implications for social worker training and practice, and expanded roles for social workers, are identified.     

Appraising Cultural Identity in Career-Development Assessment and Counseling

Career-Development Assessment and Counseling (C-DAC) systematically bridges career theory and practice. Integrating differential, developmental, and phenomenological methods, the C-DAC model uses a comprehensive career assessment battery to help clients explore their roles, developmental stages and tasks, career attitudes and knowledge, values, and interests within their unique life contexts. The authors recommend elaborating the C-DAC model to formally appraise cultural identity in step one of the model and to consider cultural identity concerns throughout the C-DAC process. This should help counselors more clearly understand how cultural factors influence people's career development and vocational behavior.     

On Submitting a Proposal to a Publisher

The first step in publishing a college textbook is usually the submission of a proposal. Currently, textbook publishers are cutting back the number of books they are contracting, but "over-the-transom" proposals continue to flood editors'desks. Very few proposals are properly prepared since few would-be authors are aware of the precise information a publisher needs. This article suggests both guidelines for a "good" proposal, as well as some additional hints for textbook publication.     

The fabric of engagement: the engagement and personality of managers and professionals in human and developmental disability services

Employee engagement is a complex and dynamic process that reflects each individual's unique, personal relationship with work. Engaged employees have a clear and defining connection to the organization's mission and purpose, and employee engagement is reflected in behaviors that meet or exceed expectations of service in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between personality and engagement among professionals and managers providing services to people with developmental disabilities. In particular, the authors investigated relationships between the 5-factor model of personality (FFM) and William Kahn's model of employee engagement encompassing physical, emotional, and cognitive components.     

Teaching and Learning Guide to Accompany Graffiti as a Form of Contentious Political Participation

The authors develop four exercises to further explore themes that are discussed in the Waldner and Dobratz article “Graffiti as a Form of Contentious Political Participation (Sociology Compass 7: 377–389),” including Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Madres de Plaza de Mayo), From Famous Political Speech (“Ich Bin Ein Berliner”) to Graffiti: “Ich bin Berliner”, “Protest, Violence, and Graffiti in Greek Politics,” and “Political Speech or Just Tagging: Billboards and Culture Jamming.” The authors encourage students to explore them such as motivations for graffiti, the difficulty in discerning writer intent, the use of graffiti as a form of political protest, and the historical and geographical context of graffiti. The authors provide links to YouTube videos and supplementary readings.     

Devolution of Services to Children and Families: The Experience of NPOs in Nanaimo,British Columbia,Canada

This study focuses on the current experience of Nanaimos nonprofit family and child service organizations (N = 29) providing services on behalf of government and their adaptation to this devolution. The effects and consequences of contracting on organizational practices, accountability, and services were explored through interviews and focus groups with executive directors, board members, line staff, government representatives, and the United Way. Results show that a significant proportion of funding comes from provincial government contracts. The funding climate is uncertain, and there is considerable confusion, stress, and time involved with the contracting process. Accountability requirements are demanding and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) express concern about a shift to a business management model. Recommendations include a need for increased collaboration between NPOs, a body that speaks for the voluntary sector, and improved relationships between NPOs and government funders.     

Laptops for students: Understanding and evaluating the drivers for change

Abstract

This paper describes the development of the student laptop initiative at the University of Strathclyde, examines the process by which this project became an embedded service and assesses the impact that this technology-rich, pedagogically flexible initiative has had on institutional structures, roles and processes. The authors use the MIT90s Model for Institutional Change to explore the way in which technology influences organisational development. A wealth of quantitative and qualitative evidence has been gathered over the last 7 years to support the examination of whether the benefits of the initiative justify the cost to the student and to the institution.     

Quality of abstracts in the context of a systematic review on parenting of children with chronic health conditions and disabilities

In this study the authors address the quality of abstracts reviewed during a systematic review. Their objective was to describe the proportion of abstracts that could not be coded and to explore factors associated with that outcome. Using an exploratory design, a database of titles uploaded for analysis was examined for clarity, type and year of publication, and abstract format. Of the 1851 references examined, 481 (26%) were coded as unclear. The inter-rater reliability Kappa score was 0.777. These abstracts were more likely to have been published prior to 2002 and did not use a structured format. Abstracts are an important tool in the systematic review process. Structured abstracts can reduce the time and costs associated with conducting a systematic review.     

Reciprocity Counseling: Practice and Research*

This paper reviews the literature on reciprocity counseling. Evidence is presented for the usefulness of reciprocity counseling with young, well educated, white clients with slight to moderate marital distress. Research into the effectiveness of several components of reciprocity counseling including contracting, problem solving training and feedback is reviewed. Findings suggest that contracting alone is an important positive influence in increasing couples' reciprocating reinforcement. The impact of problem solving training is unclear. Sex of the therapist may influence husband and wife outcomes in problem solving training differentially. Couples' performance of problem-solving behavior appears to be under the control of other as yet unspecified variables. Feedback as a single treatment has unpredictable and sometimes negative results. Therefore use of feedback alone or without careful supervision appears questionable at this time. Issues raised for further research include use of token economies for more severely distressed couples, use of multiple therapists, and the development of a classification scheme for the severity of marital distress.     

Privatization of government services: Pressure-group resistance and service transparency

Even when efficiency gains can be expected from contracting out municipal services, it surprisingly rarely occurs. Political pressure by interest groups, especially unions, is usually assumed responsible. We argue that the effectiveness of such pressure is actually a function of a service’s “transparency,” which determines voter’s knowledge of the quality and cost of the service as well as the tax burden. A model is presented of the interplay between union opposition to contracting and service transparency. Policies are offered to increase transparency and make contracting optimal for governments.     

Predicting the decisions to vote and support unions in certification elections: An integrated perspective

This article develops and empirically tests a model of the dual decision-making process employees undergo to guide their behavior during organizing campaigns and elections. The model combines principles of risk-aversion theory with more traditional views that election decisions stem from cost-benefit analyses of union representation. Previous research lacks this integrated approach to the study of election behavior. Regression analyses on a sample of approximately 16,000 certification elections strongly supported the use of risk-aversion theory to predict employees’ willingness to formally participate in elections. Furthermore, we found that time exhibited a statistically significant, negative relationship with voting participation rates, the percentage of union votes, and union victories. The results also indicated that a saturation effect may exist for delays in the election process. Financial support for this research was provided by the Syracuse University Research Fund. The authors wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful suggestions that significantly improved the paper.     

Using Profile Elevation to Increase the Usefulness of the Self‐Directed Search and Other Inventories

The authors explore the construct of profile elevation on interest inventories results. They speak to the need for career counselors to maximize their use of the interest inventory and how they can do that by properly interpreting profile elevation. Profile elevation is defined, and correlates of high and low profile elevation are presented. The common interpretive interaction that occurs between profile elevation and differentiation is explored. The authors also present a case of low profile elevation and the career counseling interventions and considerations used with the client.     

Supervision of students: A map and a model for the decade to come

This paper proposes a map and a model for the supervision of social work students. The authors have placed renewed emphasis on the somewhat neglected supervisory aspect and include an integration of adult learning theory within the supervision process. This model is located within a 'map' of the placement process and within a broader understanding of the learning milieu of the fieldwork placement. The authors suggest that this model will better meet the needs of practice in the new decade.     

Cities,unions, and the privatization of sanitation services

We analyzed 740 cities to determine whether they considered or adopted the contracting out of their sanitation collection service. The presence of a municipal sanitation union reduces the likelihood that a city considers the contracting-out option and the likelihood of adoption of the privatization alternative, but only in those cities which have cooperative relations with the union. The authors thank the Governmental Refuse Collection and Disposal Association and the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Research Board at the University of Illinois for generously supporting this research; Penni Falkinburg for some excellent research assistance; and John Delaney and Wally Hendricks for some very helpful comments.