Assessing global leadership competencies: the critical role of assessment centre methodology

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine the use of assessment centre (AC) methodology for addressing the ever-increasing demand for effective talent management of global leaders. Research is reviewed on the most commonly used questionnaire tools for assessing global leadership competencies, which lack the AC’s ability to provide behavioural evidence of leadership competency. A literature search is conducted to identify the extent to which scholarly research to date has examined the use of ACs to measure global leadership competencies. Based on the findings from the review of the literature, the authors recommend further exploration of a leadership AC approach as a ‘best practice’ talent management tool for measuring global leadership competencies. A framework is provided for designing ACs to evaluate and provide developmental feedback on the competencies identified as critical for successful leadership performance in an organization’s global environment.     

From city club to nation state: business networks in American political development

Although cities were given no role in the constitutional order of the United States, the new nation posed the same potential threats to the accumulation of capital and wealth as European monarchs posed to long-powerful urban centers. In mobilizing for self-protection and advancement, American business developed new practices and discourses of citizenship that sustained a central role for the community as the locus of social provision. The strategy combined opportunity-hoarding through restricted membership in civic groups and obligation-hoarding through the alignment of diverse networks of voluntarism with this civic core. The linkage of business interests to this hybrid charitable-civic configuration constituted a source of resistance to nationalizing tendencies driven by demands for social protection. This alternative model of social provision and civic organization sustained a distinctive pattern of political membership and state development. By fiercely defending the capacity of privately governed civic networks to provide substantial social support, this history of business influence through community organizations lives on in the partial and fragmented character of the American welfare state.     

Sustainable social work: Modelling knowledge production,transfer, and evidence‐based practice

Gray M, Schubert L. Sustainable social work: modelling knowledge production, transfer, and evidence‐based social work This article is a first attempt to present a model of knowledge production and transfer in social work, drawing on the expanding literature on knowledge production. It highlights features of knowledge production in social work, such as the diverse contexts in which knowledge is developed and applied. It argues that knowledge production by itself is not enough. Equally important is knowledge transfer and implementation. The literature on knowledge production highlights problems with the implementation of actually existing knowledge and the potential resistance to this implementation as highly important issues for social work research. It leads to a greater awareness of the context in which knowledge is produced and applied and creates a bridge between traditional informal and tacit ways of knowing in social work and the demands of evidence‐based practice.     

Sex after divorce: older adult women’s reflections

People who divorce experience a number of negative impacts, and yet divorce also offers opportunities for growth and transformation. This qualitative study of older adult women offers the possibility that divorce may be sexually empowering, especially for women, based on in-depth interviewing of women who had gone through one or more divorces. Detailed examples of the experiences of fourteen women with divorce and sexual expression are offered, focusing on in which situations divorce might be empowering and how it could contribute to sexual exploration and satisfaction. Overall, for the fourteen women in the study who had experienced divorce, the quality of sex in the marriage impacted the quality of sexual expression after the divorce. Also, these findings supported the idea of transformational learning through divorce, and expand divorce-stress-adjustment and transformational learning perspectives to apply more specifically to sexual expression. Understanding possible impacts of divorce over the lifespan, including strengths-based aspects, is important for social workers as the population they serve ages.     

Staffing-Related Deficiency Citations in Nursing Homes

There is evidence that staffing characteristics influence quality of care in nursing homes. Federal and state surveyors conduct inspections of homes to assess their compliance with regulatory standards, including requirements related to staffing. Deficiency citations are issued when these standards are not met. This article examines the relationship between operational, facility, and market characteristics and organizational performance measured as staffing-related deficiency citations. Online Survey Certification of Automated Records (OSCAR) data from 2000 through 2007 were used with multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with deficiency citations for staffing. Chain members and facilities with poor quality of care were more likely to receive deficiency citations for staffing. Greater bed count and competition between nursing homes were associated with a decreased likelihood of deficiency citations for staffing. Staffing-related deficiencies within nursing homes vary according to various operational, facility, and market characteristics.     

Curriculum Policy Dilemmas in Field Instruction

The increased interest in empirical research over the last few years has produced a severe problem with applied statistical misuse in social work research efforts that incorporate advanced analytical techniques. A recent article in the Journal of Education for Social Work purporting to assess admissions criteria is presented as a primary example of such misuse and provides the basis for a discussion of general methodological issues of particular importance to social work education research. Specific issues discussed include the truncation of range, dummy coding, identifying race and sex bias, measuring professional potential, and the generalization of findings.     

Mutual Aid in the Classroom

The purpose of the study is to examine the use of instructional technology in creating a mutual aid environment in the classroom. By developing and exploring Internet-based exercises designed to promote interaction in a distance education environment, the authors tested the hypothesis that instructional technology offers opportunities to promote mutual aid among students. This article describes these exercises and presents the results of a student survey about the application of mutual aid in distance education.     

Body-Related Emotions in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Childhood Sexual Abuse

Traumatic experiences are associated with emotions such as anxiety, shame, guilt, disgust, and anger. For patients who have experienced child sexual abuse, these emotions might be triggered by perceptions of their own body. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of the association of the body to traumatic experiences and to discern the emotions linked to trauma-associated body areas. Ninety-seven female participants were assigned to four groups: post-traumatic stress disorder following child sexual abuse with co-occurring borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder following child sexual abuse without co-occurring borderline personality disorder, borderline personality disorder without post-traumatic stress disorder, and healthy controls. Participants rated 26 body areas regarding their association with trauma and 7 emotions. Emotions were assessed by questionnaires. Results suggest that specific areas of the body are associated with trauma and linked to highly aversive emotions. In post-traumatic stress disorder patients, the areas associated with highly negative emotions were the pubic region and inner thighs. Thus, the patient’s body may act as a trigger for traumatic memories.     

Resolving Identity Conflict: Gay,Lesbian, and Queer Individuals with a Christian Upbringing

Gay, lesbian, and queer individuals with a Christian upbringing often experience conflict between religion and sexual identity. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand how gay, lesbian, and queer-identified individuals with a Christian upbringing resolve conflict between sexual identity and religious beliefs. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 15 participants led to 3 conclusions. First, resolving the discord between sexual identity and religious beliefs is a five-stage process of internal conflict resolution. Second, personal and contextual factors affect every aspect of the resolution process. Finally, faith development and sexual identity development are intertwined and fluid constructions.