Collaborative Partnership in Age-Friendly Cities: Two Case Studies From Quebec,Canada

This article aims to explain the collaborative partnership conditions and factors that foster implementation effectiveness within the age-friendly cities (AFC) in Quebec (AFC-QC), Canada. Based on a community-building approach that emphasizes collaborative partnership, the AFC-QC implementation process is divided into three steps: (1) social diagnostic of older adults' needs; (2) an action plan based on a logic model; and (3) implementation through collaborations. AFC-QC promotes direct involvement of older adults and seniors' associations at each of the three steps of the implementation process, as well as other stakeholders in the community. Based on two contrasting case studies, this article illustrates the importance of collaborative partnership for the success of AFC implementation. Results show that stakeholders, agencies, and organizations are exposed to a new form of governance where coordination and collaborative partnership among members of the steering committee are essential. Furthermore, despite the importance of the senior associations' participation in the process, they encountered significant limits in the capacity of implementing age-friendly environments solely by themselves. In conclusion, we identify the main collaborative partnership conditions and factors in AFC-QC.     

Reflections and Learning From an Agency‐Wide Implementation of Single Session Work in Family Therapy

In November 2009, the Bouverie Centre, a centre for training, research, and clinical family therapy in Melbourne, Australia, embarked on a 12‐month trial involving the implementation of single session work as our main model of service provision for all new family appointments. We were interested in evaluating clients' and therapists' experiences of this change in our clinical service delivery. This article discusses some clinical dilemmas that arose for staff in this process, and how they were addressed. Clients' responses to single session work are outlined, followed by a discussion of outcomes of the implementation for our organisation.     

Examining the equivalence of fidelity over two generations of KEEP implementation: A preliminary analysis

Problem

In order to obtain and maintain positive outcomes garnered from evidence-based practice (EBP) models, it is necessary to implement them effectively in “real world” settings, to continually monitor intervention fidelity to prevent drift, and to train new staff due to turnover. The fidelity monitoring processes that are commonly employed in research settings are labor intensive and probably unrealistic to employ in community agencies given the additional burden and cost that they represent over and above the cost of implementing the EBP. Efficient strategies for implementing fidelity monitoring and staff training procedures within the inner context of agency settings are needed to promote agency self-sufficiency and program sustainability.

Method

A cascading implementation model was used whereby agencies who achieved proficiency in KEEP, an EBP designed to prevent placement disruptions in foster and kinship child welfare homes, were trained to take on fidelity management roles to improve the likelihood of program sustainability. Agency staff were trained to self-monitor fidelity and to train internal staff to achieve model fidelity. A web-based system for conducting fidelity assessments and for onsite/internal and remote program quality monitoring was utilized.

Results

Scores on fidelity ratings from streamed observations of intervention sessions showed no differences for foster parents treated by first generation interventionists trained by model developers compared to a second generation of interventionists trained by the first generation.

Conclusion and relevance to child welfare

Development of the local intra-agency capacity to manage quality intervention delivery is an important feature of successful EBP implementation. Use of the cascading implementation model appears to support the development of methods for effective monitoring of fidelity of the KEEP intervention, for training new staff, and ultimately for the development of internal methods for maintaining program sustainability and effectiveness.     

An exploratory analysis of composite choices: Weighing rationality versus irrationality

Humans are engineered neurologically to make rational and irrational choices. This paper introduces a new paradigm for decision making – a composite choice model – in which economic agents are constantly weighing rationality versus irrationality when encountering options. In an exploratory, deterministic, two-period model, an assumption of a two-way cross-embedment (i.e., a two-way interaction between the rational and irrational components) results in a paradoxical phenomenon, an outcome of either tending toward bliss or abyss at the end of the first period. This implies, for instance, a psychological struggle between two selves within the mind. The paradigm proposed is compared to the dual-process theories recently developed by the cognitive sciences. Future research will explore implications for public policy design and implementation.     

Institutional Pressures and Organizational Capacity: The Case of Outcome Measurement1

A central claim of new institutional theory is that organizations in a field come to exhibit shared characteristics over time. Recent literature emphasizes variation across field members, but has yet to concur on why differences occur. This study tests institutional explanations for the uneven implementation of one organizational practice—outcome measurement, an evaluative technique used to assess the impact of an organization’s programs. We analyze data from a new survey investigating the practices of nonprofit organizations (N = 379) and argue for the inclusion of the concept of organizational capacity to account for the uneven implementation of outcome measurement. As predicted by new institutional theory, organizations are more likely to adopt outcome measurement if key actors promulgate its use. However, the implementation of outcome measurement is best explained by the addition of the concept of organizational capacity alongside variables drawn from new institutionalism. Nonprofits with adequate organizational capacity, operationalized—following Weber’s concept of bureaucracy—as the presence of written rules and members with specialized knowledge, are better able to respond to isomorphic pressures to implement a new organizational practice. Our findings expand scholarship that examines the intersection of institutional dynamics and organizational traits in accounting for patterns of implementation of practices across an organizational field.     

Implementing the ecological approach in tobacco control programs: results of a case study

The ‘new public health’ has stimulated calls to adopt an ecological approach for action aimed at improving population health. However, the implementation of ecological programs has often remained a challenge. The objective of this study was to identify factors facilitating the implementation of ecological tobacco control programming in two Public Health Departments in Québec (Canada) using Scheirer's model of program implementation as a conceptual framework and an exemplary case study design. Analysis revealed two distinct configurations of environmental, organizational and professional characteristics that were related to equally successful implementations of the framework. Key roles for factors such as provincial ministerial guidelines and financial resources, human resources, and relationships and alliances with other organizations, were highlighted. These results replicate findings from quantitative surveys and allow better understanding of the conditions required for planning ecological programming.     

Promoting supervisory practice change in public child welfare: lessons from university/agency collaborative research in four states

This article describes qualitative findings regarding lessons learned from research and demonstration projects in four states focused on the implementation of clinical supervision within their public child welfare agencies. This was part of a larger mixed methods study of the effectiveness of these new clinical supervision models on practice, organizational, and client outcomes. Themes from 15 focus groups with frontline supervisors participating in the projects are provided; they focused on the challenges experienced while participating and working to use clinical supervision techniques, recommendations regarding implementing such projects in the public child welfare environment, and those aspects of the implementation that were most effective in supporting their work. These themes provide direction for states and localities wishing to shift frontline supervision to a more clinical model within the public child welfare setting.     

The Christmas Box House: Developing a Best Practice Model for Emergency Shelter Care and Assessment

ABSTRACT

In many states, emergency shelter care facilities are the main point of entry into the child welfare system. Despite this important “gatekeeping” role, emergency or crisis shelters serving abused and neglected children have been overlooked as research settings, and little has been written about them in the child welfare literature. This article describes the evolution, design, and implementation of the Christmas Box House, a new model for shelter care in the State of Utah. Emphasis is placed on the public-private partnerships that not only spurred the development of the Christmas Box House model, but will now be critical to the success of planned research efforts.     

Understanding Nurse Perceptions of a Newly Implemented Electronic Medical Record System

Nurses are the frontline of healthcare; however, there has been little theoretically-driven research on their acceptance of information technology use in care delivery. This research utilized the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model to understand how hospital nurses perceived the implementation of a new electronic medical record (EMR) system. This study used mix methods. The survey responses indicated that social influence and performance expectancy were significant factors in system adoption. Effort expectancy did not have a significant influence on the intention to use the EMR. The interviews were utilized to better understand these results. The UTAUT model highlighted factors that are important to nurses during an EMR deployment and can help in future implementations of technology in healthcare.     

Washington State's adoption of a child welfare practice model: An illustration of the Getting To Outcomes implementation framework

Despite a great need for evidence-informed practices in child welfare, very few child welfare systems have implemented evidence-based case management models state-wide. While the literature on implementation from the perspective of model developers and researchers is steadily increasing, there has been little attention to the process of implementation originating from the reverse direction, by community organizations themselves, or with regard to going-to-scale implementation in child welfare. The Getting to Outcomes (GTO) model, which was originally created to help organizations choose and implement prevention programs, is a promising guide for child welfare systems seeking to initiate system-wide implementation of evidence-based practices. The GTO framework provides a step-by-step guide for surveying a system, building motivation, training, and evaluation. This article will illustrate the state-wide implementation of Solution-Based Casework (SBC), an evidence-based model of case management, by Washington State's Children's Administration, following the GTO framework. Despite some barriers and obstacles, the GTO model proved to be feasible and to aide in the implementation of SBC. Implications for the GTO model as a framework for empowering community organizations to choose and implement relevant evidence-based practices will be discussed.     

Crisis,change, and institutions in forest management: the Wet Tropics of northeastern Australia

This paper tests the four-phase heuristic model of change in resource management regimes developed by Gunderson et al. (1995. In: Barriers and Bridges to the Renewal of Ecosystems and Institutions. Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 489–533) by applying it to a case analysis of rainforest management in northeastern Australia. The model suggests that resource management regimes change in four phases: (i) crisis caused by external factors, (ii) a search for alternative management solutions, (iii) creation of a new management regime, and (iv) bureaucratic implementation of the new arrangements. The history of human use and management of the tropical forests of this region is described and applied to this model. The ensuing analysis demonstrates that: (i) resource management tends to be characterized by a series of distinct eras; (ii) changes to management regimes are precipitated by crisis; and (iii) change is externally generated. The paper concludes by arguing that this theoretical perspective on institutional change in resource management systems has wider utility.     

思想政治理论课实践教学网络化管理模式研究

本文通过对思想政治理论课实践教学管理模式的研究,构建基于网络运行下的思想政治理论课实践教学管理新模式,即将现代信息技术运用到教学管理中。为确保实践教学各环节实施质量,增强思想政治理论课实践教学实效性提供合理优化的管理新模式。     

我国城市新区发展战略研究

新区的战略定位是通过确定新区在区域当中的位置和功能,使其获得更大竞争力的过程。新区产业结构的调整与升级,有利于整个城市产业动态比较优势的形成与发展。新区的空间结构需要充分考虑自然地貌特征,新区内部生活居住与产业发展的平衡。新区要有效划分行政管理权限,整合各类公共资源,形成分工合理、职责明晰、高效运转、执行通畅的管理架构。新区还要创新市场化开发模式,吸引民间资本的进入,为新区建设提供可靠的财力保障。     

Exclusion by design: intersections of social,digital and data exclusion

ABSTRACT

As smart technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and Internet of Things (IoT) are increasingly embedded into commercial and government services, we are faced with new challenges in digital inclusion to ensure that existing inequalities are not reinforced and new gaps that are created can be addressed. Digital exclusion is often compounded by existing social disadvantage, and new systems run the risk of creating new barriers and harms. Adopting a case study approach, this paper examines the exclusionary practices embedded in the design and implementation of social welfare services in Australia. We examined Centrelink’s automated Online Compliance Intervention system (‘Robodebt’) and the National Disability Insurance Agency’s intelligent avatar interface ‘Nadia’. The two cases show how the introduction of automated systems can reinforce the punitive policies of an existing service regime at the design stage and how innovative AI systems that have the potential to enhance user participation and inclusion can be hindered at implementation so that digital benefits are left unrealised.     

IMPLEMENTATION OF PARENT MANAGEMENT TRAINING AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL: THE CASE OF NORWAY

This article describes early aspects of the nationwide implementation of an evidence‐based program (EBP) in Norway and the design for studying program fidelity over time. The EBP is the Parent Management Training, Oregon Model (PMTO). The project is a combination of a ‘top down’ initiative at the governmental and ministry level, and a ‘bottom up’ initiative from practitioners seeking effective interventions in the prevention and remediation of behavior problems in children and youth. The main components of the implementation strategy were to (a) establish a national implementation and research center; (b) provide for regional and local participation at county and municipal levels; (c) establish a comprehensive therapist recruitment, training, and maintenance program; (d) create a network for collaboration, supervision, and quality control; (e) conduct clinical outcome research; and (f) study the implementation process. Following the training of three successive generations of PMTO specialists, a study was designed to examine how individual, family, interventionist, organizational, and community characteristics influence program adoption and implementation, as well as how these factors impact upon how PMTO specialists provide the intervention to families with competent adherence to the model. Within the framework of the collaborative North American and Norwegian project, challenges and facilitators in the process of the continental crossing of the PMTO model are discussed.     

Social and emotional learning in middle school curricula: A service learning model based on positive youth development

Service learning is an instructional methodology that may benefit students' social and emotional learning (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, & Walberg, 2007). Though service learning is not a new pedagogy, there are few examples of how to successfully deliver service learning in school curriculum for middle school students (Gestsdottir, Bowers, von Eye, Napolitano, & Lerner, 2010; Mueller et al., 2011). This article discusses the theoretical basis for and practical implementation of a school-based positive youth development model that utilizes service learning to build the social and emotional skills of middle school students. First, this article presents the importance of social and emotional learning during adolescence. Next, utilizing a positive youth development framework, the possible social and emotional outcomes of service learning are outlined. Lastly, a case study of the Wyman Center's Teen Outreach Program® is presented as an example that integrates service learning, built on a positive youth development framework, into middle school curricula. Challenges of this model, future research questions and implications on practice and policy are suggested.     

Monitoring and modeling the urban growth of two mid-sized Chilean cities

Chile's economic development model changed drastically in 1973. Public policy liberalization ended and the market became the principal entity for regulating growth, including urban growth. The implementation of this new model resulted in unprecedented urban growth, markedly impacting the landscape. In mid-sized cities, this spatial growth has been especially significant. Two examples of such mid-sized cities are Chillán and Los Ángeles, located in the Biobío Region, in the so-called Central Valley. This research analyzed the land use/cover change in Chillán and Los Ángeles from 1978 to 1998, identified the patterns of urban growth and the fragmentation of the urban space, applying GIS and remote sensing tools. The main driving forces of the urban changes were analyzed and the model to predict the land use/cover changes was applied. Our results show the importance of monitoring and modeling rapid urban growth for attaining sustainable mid-sized cities in developing countries that are strongly dependent on export of natural resources. Monitoring and modeling could also help to avoid a repetition of the errors that produced the unsustainable growth characteristic of large Latin American cities.     

Evaluating the design and implementation fidelity of an adapted Plan-Do-Study-Act approach to improve health system performance in a Nigerian state

BackgroundThe Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle is fundamental to many quality improvement (QI) models. For the approach to be effective in the real-world, variants must align with standard elements of the PDSA. This study evaluates the alignment between theory, design and implementation fidelity of a PDSA variant adapted for Nigeria’s health system performance improvement.MethodsAn iterative consensus building approach was used to develop a scorecard evaluating new conceptual indices of design and implementation fidelity of QI interventions (design and implementation index, defects and gaps) based on Taylor’s theoretical framework.ResultsDesign (adaptation) scores were optimal across all standard features indicating that design was well adapted to the typical PDSA. Conversely, implementation fidelity scores were only optimal with two standard features: prediction-based test of change and the use of data over time. The other features, use of multiple iterative cycles and documentation had implementation gaps of 17 % and 50 % respectively.ConclusionThis study demonstrates how both adaptation and implementation fidelity are important for success of QI interventions. It also presents an approach for evaluating other QI models using Taylor’s PDSA assessment framework as a guide, which might serve to strengthen the theory behind future QI models and provide guidance on their appropriate use.