ON THE TABLETOP IMPROVEMENT EXPERIMENTS OF JAPAN

Originally conceived by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, the “tabletop improvement experiments” have been used in Japan since 1925 to teach important principles of continuous improvement. The experiments, designed for classroom use, communicate their lessons in a striking and memorable way. The work-related experiments categorize the sources of resistance to change and show how to neutralize them. The process-related experiments sharpen understanding of where the biggest opportunities for process improvement usually lie. Surprisingly, the experiments are hardly known in the West. We describe all of them and document their history for the first time.     

Stages of family therapy: A developmental model

While it is not possible to assert that all family treatment follows a universal and sequential pattern, commonalities can be ascertained which can help the therapist maintain objectivity and provide direction for himself and the family. Four major stages are outlined, each with several substages: 1) the preparation stage—mutual acceptance, definition of the problem, formulation of goals; 2) the transition stage—beginning actualization, crisis, reformulation and acceptance; 3) the consolidation stage—investment in the therapeutic work, working through alternatives; 4) the terminal stage—introduction to termination, defining the duration and format of the ending. Universal issues are identified, tasks for the therapist are outlined and common problems are described.     

Postnatal quality of life — A content analysis of qualitative results to the Mother-Generated Index

Background

The Mother-Generated Index (MGI) assesses postnatal quality of life (QoL) without providing a predefined checklist, thus offering mothers the opportunity to identify areas of life affected by having a baby.

Segregation, the concentration of poverty, and the life chances of individuals

We outline a theoretical model that identifies residential segregation as a primary structural cause of the geographic concentration of poverty in U.S. urban areas. From this theory we specify and estimate a multilevel equation that links minority poverty and segregation within metropolitan areas to the concentration of socioeconomic deprivation within neighborhoods. We then estimate a second set of multilevel equations that connect neighborhood poverty rates to individual-level outcomes commonly associated with the underclass: male joblessness, teenage motherhood, and single parenthood. Our results link economic and social structures at the metropolitan level to individual outcomes that operate to perpetuate poverty and lead to the creation of the underclass.     

Internet Use and Well-Being in Adolescence

Previous research suggests that Internet use may be associated with decreases in well-being among adolescents. However, there has been little investigation of the relationship between well-being and social aspects of Internet use. In the present study, 130 7th graders from a middle-class public school in California completed dispositional measures of well-being, and on three subsequent evenings they responded to questions regarding their Internet use (including detailed logs of instant messages) and daily well-being. Time spent on-line was not associated with dispositional or daily well-being. However, as suggested by intimacy theory, the closeness of instant message communication partners was associated with daily social anxiety and loneliness in school, above and beyond the contribution of dispositional measures.     

Strategic planning in non-profits: profit from it

Non-profit human service organizations, both public and private, face unique challenges and opportunities in the climate of the 1990s as human needs are increasing, funding is decreasing, and threats to organizational well-being are encountered. The purpose of this paper is to describe, advocate for, and illustrate a strategic planning model which facilitates a proactive, energizing, futuristic vision as services are being planned and delivered. Three case examples are used: a large state-run county social services department; a small, private, sectarian agency that provides group home services for the developmentally disabled; and a medium sized federal public health hospital.     

How can we Measure the Effects of Client Participation on the Effectiveness of Social Work Intervention?

Dr A. S. York, Bar-Ilan University, School of Social Work, 52 900 Ramat-Gan, Israel. Summary This paper examines the concepts of client or citizen participationin community work and of effectiveness in social work and otherrelated fields. It surveys and summarizes the literature inthese two fields, focusing on how the two key concepts are empiricallymeasured. After examining the literature on the effects of citizenparticipation on community work intervention, the paper putsforward an operative model for both researchers and practitionersto measure how the participation of clients can make communitywork more effective and productive.