Developing social work education in Lithuania

From 1991 through 1998, during the turmoil of independence and transition to a democracy and free-market economy, the authors established the first social work education programme in Lithuania and assisted Lithuanian professionals to assume responsibility for the programme. This article supplies an initial general and conceptual narrative and analyses some of the factors that influenced the development of the programme and a practice model to address conditions in Lithuania.     

Learning and Organization in the Knowledge‐Based Information Economy: Initial Findings from a Participatory Action Research Case Study

This paper reports on an ongoing, multiphase, project‐based action learning and research project. In particular, it summarizes some aspects of the learning climate and outcomes for a case‐study company in the software industry. Using a participatory action research approach, the learning company framework developed by Pedler et al. (1997) is used to initiate critical reflection in the company at three levels: managing director, senior management team and technical and professional staff. As such, this is one of the first systematic attempts to apply this framework to the entire organization and to a company in the knowledge‐based learning economy. Two sets of issues are of general concern to the company: internal issues surrounding the company's reward and recognition policies and practices and the provision of accounting and control information in a business‐relevant way to all levels of staff; and external issues concerning the extent to which the company and its members actively learn from other companies and effectively capture, disseminate and use information accessed by staff in boundary‐spanning roles. The paper concludes with some illustrations of changes being introduced by the company as a result of the feedback on and discussion of these issues.     

加入WTO后西北地区农业发展思路探讨

西北地区农业土地资源人均拥有量上与全国相比具有比较优势 ,但其农村经济、农民收入远落后于东部地区 ,加入 WTO后会对西北地区粮食供给、传统的以粮棉油为主的种植业、农产品加工业、农民收入和农民就业产生负面影响 ,对此 ,政府应加快对农业的管理体制改革 ,建立统一完善的农产品贸易的市场运作机制 ,进行农业产业结构的调整 ,改革农业经营模式     

Ticking Boxes and Changing the Social World: Data Collection and the New UK General Practice Contract

The new General Medical Services contract was introduced into general practice in the UK in 2004, and it links pay to performance far more than in the past. As a result, accurate data collection about patients and the care that they receive is now not only important for good patient care but also to prove that targets are being met. The use of electronic records and information technology has thus become much more sophisticated. This article reports the results from an ethnographic study of the early stages of the new contract in two general practices. As expected, electronic data collection had increased in importance in both practices, with consequences both for clinician–patient interactions and for the structures and processes in the practices, as uniform data collection instruments are put in place that privilege ‘hard’ biomedical data that can be easily coded above ‘softer’, more patient-centred information. Roles and responsibilities had been changed to reflect the needs of the new systems, and new software applications allowed increased surveillance of both doctors’ and nurses’ performance; both of these had an impact on patterns of authority in our study practices. Furthermore, the structural changes that were found acted to embed the new ways of working, ensuring their reproduction in the future. In spite of these effects, we found little opposition to or critical reflection on the changes, and the doctors in our study continued to view their improved computer systems as neutral recording devices. The implication of these findings is discussed.     

The role of military culture in military organizations' responses to woman abuse in military families1

This paper reports on a study of the Canadian Forces' (CF's) response to woman abuse in military families which was conducted using institutional ethnography feminist methodology. A 20‐person multidisciplinary team conducted 126 semi‐structured interviews in four Canadian provinces with: (1) present and former civilian female partners of CF members, who were survivors of abuse [64]; (2) regional civilian and CF social service providers, and CF supervisory personnel [52]; and (3) National Defence Headquarters program administrators and generals in Ottawa [10]. Analyzing these interviews enabled us to identify and elaborate on some of the military social relations in which the experiences of military spouses who are woman abuse survivors are embedded. This paper discusses the difficulties created for military spouses by geographical transfers and military housing neighbourhoods, and establishes the crucial role played by the chain of command in military organizations' responses to spouses who have been abused. The paper then shows how military leaders, especially those who supervise combat units, respond to woman abuse in ways that reflect their participation in the hypervigilance and unit cohesion features of military culture. The paper concludes by reflecting on Western militaries' responses to woman abuse in military families in light of their responses to the events of September 11, 2001.     

Everyday Life in Stochastic Networks1

Models of Stochastic networks may prove important tools for integrating ideas about structure with ideas about process in social theory.     

基于HErD分布的信号交叉口车辆到达规律动态预测

为掌握信号交叉口实时优化信号控制和交通诱导所需的车流到达信号交叉口的随机时变规律,利用HErD分布具有无限逼近任意非负随机变量的特性,提出基于HErD分布的信号交叉口车辆到达时间间隔变化规律动态预测的方法,并以一个交叉口的2个进口道进行实例验证分析。实验结果为：其中方向一的拟合度范围为86.17%~ 93.51%,平均拟合度高达9032%,方向二的拟合度范围为93.24%~98.52%,平均拟合度高达9693%,其高精度的拟合结果表明基于HErD分布的信号交叉口车辆到达规律动态预测具有科学性和实用性。     

A study of significance of racial and athletic identification on educational perceptions among African American male college athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the racial and athletic identities of African American male college athletes to determine how the identities might impact the athletic and educational potential and performance of this specific group of college athletes. The study revealed that participants who responded negatively to a poor athletic performance were more likely to have lower levels of academic self-concept. In contrast, college athletes who highly identified with their racial group were more likely to have higher levels of academic self-concept. Overall, the findings reveal the intricacies and complexities of being an African American college student and athlete at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) in the US. As such, the article details the implications of the findings as they relate to African American culture, American sports culture, and higher education realities.     

喇叭话声母记略

喇叭话是贵州省境内喇叭苗族人民所使用的语言。本文从历史角度考查喇叭苗话声母演变情况,通过与今娄邵片湘语的比较,发现其声母较为完整地保留了老湘语的基本特征,同时也带有部分西南官话色彩。