Successful adoption and implementation of a comprehensive casework practice model in a public child welfare agency: Application of the Getting to Outcomes (GTO) model

In recent years, several states have been developing or adopting casework practice models in an effort to shape the thinking and behavior of front line child welfare workers with a commitment to improving the safety, permanency and well-being outcomes of vulnerable children in their care (Antle, Christensen, Barbee & Martin, 2008; Christensen, Todahl & Barrett, 1999; Courtney, 2009; Folaron, 2009). This article presents one framework for approaching the organizational changes that need to be made in order to support a practice model. The Getting to Outcomes” Framework (Wandersman, 2009) is a useful approach for ensuring that all areas to support practice change are addressed.     

Student Reflections on Vulnerability and Self-awareness in a Social Work Skills Course

Self-awareness is generally considered core to effective social work education and professional practice. This paper examines student reflections on personal vulnerability and self-awareness in social, educational, and professional contexts. Ethics approval and student consent was obtained to analyse entries from the online learning component of a second year interpersonal skills course. The week 7 workshop, which focused on the concept of self-awareness, was contextualised and triggered by an online viewing of a relevant TED talk on the power of vulnerability. Qualitative analysis of student entries from this week revealed three core themes: (a) a provocative stimulus, which emphasised the usefulness and challenging nature of the TED talk in the context of workshop learning; (b) vulnerability, scarcity, and blame, which highlighted student identification with stimuli material and their emerging self-awareness; and (c) the importance of self-awareness and connection, which illuminated the students’ beginning applications of theory to practice.

IMPLICATIONS

• Interpersonal skills courses can be well supported by a diverse range of online and classroom stimuli.

• The intentional scaffolding of self-reflective activities can support early skills development and promote self-awareness.

• The analysis of student reflections can contribute to effective and responsive curriculum design.

     

The social construction of peacekeeping in America

Although other nations have participated extensively in international peacekeeping operations, the use of American soldiers as peacekeepers is a recent change in their military role, and is not well understood by American society, the U.S. Army, the soldiers, or their wives. We use a social constructionist perspective, which has rarely been applied to the study of the American military, to analyze the definition of peacekeeping missions and of the nature of the military, by soldiers assigned to peacekeeping duty, their families, and other social institutions such as communications media and churches. We suggest that, because peacekeeping is an inherently ambiguous process, this theoretical perspective may prove useful in understanding the social definition of the emerging military role of peacekeeper.     

Evacuation from Natural Disasters: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Research on evacuation from natural disasters has been published across the peer‐reviewed literature among several disparate disciplinary outlets and has suggested a wide variety of predictors of evacuation behavior. We conducted a systematic review to summarize and evaluate the current literature on demographic, storm‐related, and psychosocial correlates of natural disaster evacuation behavior. Eighty‐three eligible papers utilizing 83 independent samples were identified. Risk perception was a consistent positive predictor of evacuation, as were several demographic indicators, prior evacuation behavior, and having an evacuation plan. The influence of prior experiences, self‐efficacy, personality, and links between expected and actual behavior were examined less frequently. Prospective, longitudinal designs are relatively uncommon. Although difficult to conduct in postdisaster settings, more prospective, methodologically rigorous studies would bolster inferences. Results synthesize the current body of literature on evacuation behavior and can help inform the design of more effective predisaster evacuation warnings and procedures.     

Social model of emotional labour and client satisfaction: exploring inter- and intrapersonal characteristics of the client−provider encounter

As part of healthcare organisations’ efforts to improve client satisfaction, special attention is directed to care providers’ expression of authenticity through genuine emotional displays in care encounters. The study’s aim was to test a mediating–moderating model for predicting clients’ satisfaction. The model combined intrapersonal forces (the healthcare provider’s level of caring and emotional load) and interpersonal forces (meeting the client in a team of professionals or alone, and client?provider similarity), as predictors of emotional labour strategies, and subsequent client satisfaction. Clients’ evaluation of whether or not the emotional displays were authentic was intended to moderate the link between emotional labour and client satisfaction. The sample consisted of 103 healthcare providers’ encounters with clients’ family members, randomly selected from five nursing homes. Data were collected by validated questionnaires at three time points. Mixed linear model analyses generally supported the proposed model. Meeting a client’s family in teams, ethnic similarity, and providers’ caring and emotional load stimulated higher levels of deep acting. Meeting clients alone and less emotional load involved more surface acting. These findings offer empirical support for the social interaction explanation of emotional labour, pointing to the importance of social characteristics of the service encounter in shaping emotional labour strategies and maintaining client satisfaction.     

CAT FIGHTS AND GANG FIGHTS

This article uses Joan Acker's (1990) theory of gendered organizations to frame an analysis of the construction of occupational choice. Utilizing interview data collected from correctional officers (N = 36) working in a men's and a women's state prison, I examine these officers' strong preference for work in the men's prison. Reasons for preferring work with men draw on a comparison of male to female inmates in which the latter are seen as emotional and irrational, an ideal typical construction of the men's prison as a "real penitentiary,'and a feeling among officers that supervisors in women's prisons are less able to enforce institutional rules. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of this case study for a theory of gendered occupational choice and gendered organizations.     

The potential impact of comparative effectiveness research on U.S. Health Care expenditures

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) has the potential to slow health care spending growth by focusing resources on health interventions that provide the most value. In this article, we discuss issues surrounding CER and its implementation and apply these methods to a salient clinical example: treatment of prostate cancer. Physicians have several options for treating patients recently diagnosed with localized disease, including removal of the prostate (radical prostatectomy), treatment with radioactive seeds (brachytherapy), radiation therapy (IMRT), or—if none of these are pursued—active surveillance. Using a commercial health insurance claims database and after adjustment for comorbid conditions, we estimate that the additional cost of treatment with radical prostatectomy is $7,300, while other alternatives are more expensive—$19,000 for brachytherapy and $46,900 for IMRT. However, a review of the clinical literature uncovers no evidence that justifies the use of these more expensive approaches. These results imply that if patient management strategies were shifted to those supported by CER-based criteria, an estimated $1.7 to $3.0 billion (2009 present value) could be saved each year.