Research Self-Efficacy

This article discusses challenges that educators face in attempting to develop culturally competent social workers who understand the dynamics of oppression and embrace a commitment to promoting social justice. An educational model is described, focusing on the use of an interactive Web forum aimed at providing a safe vehicle for student dialogue. Usage patterns of the website are summarized and data from student evaluations are analyzed. The authors provide recommendations based on evaluating the use of computer technology to meet the challenges inherent in teaching and learning processes related to combining cultural diversity and societal oppression content.     

Problems with international measures of education

Comparative studies often use standard measures of educational attainment. Each country’s indigenous educational credentials are reclassified into a standard set of categories. Because the indigenous credentials differ among countries, the reclassification process varies greatly, and it differs depending on which standard classification system is used. In a review of two comparative studies using two different standard classification systems, three observations were made: 1) translating the indigenous credentials into the standard categories can lead to very different distributions of similar countries’ populations in the standard categories. 2) Reclassifying the indigenous credentials into the standard categories appears to follow different decision rules in different countries. 3) The heterogeneity of the indigenous credentials combined into the standard categories tends to distort cross-country similarities and differences. We discuss the weaknesses of the two standard sets of categories and call for further efforts to improve them.     

Reinvestigating Remarriage: Another Decade of Progress

The body of stepfamily research published this decade exceeded the entire output of the previous 90 years of the century. The complexity and quality of the scholarly work in this decade improved as well—better samples were obtained, methods were more sensitive to stepfamily complexity, longitudinal designs were more frequently employed, and other important methodological gains were made. Unfortunately, many unknowns regarding remarriages and stepfamilies remain. We present an overview of trends regarding topics, research methods, and theories; we critique research methods that have not been productive; and we identify scholarly advances. Finally, new conceptual, methodological, and theoretical directions for future scholarship on remarriages and stepfamilies are proposed.     

Connecting the Characteristics of International Volunteer Experiences with Their Impacts: A Canadian Case Study

The direct relationship between international volunteer experiences and impacts has rarely been explored and yet is important for understanding why certain impacts occur in the lives of volunteers upon returning home. This information helps organizations to develop effective international volunteer programs. This interpretive case study of the Nova Scotia-Gambia Association’s volunteer program explores the interactions between motivations, experiences, and impacts of volunteers who participate in short-term, development aid projects. It utilizes qualitative interviews and participant observation with recent volunteers and interviews with past alumni to understand these relationships. The findings identify three distinct types of volunteer narratives connecting experiences and impacts—personal, professional, and negative categories. The key characteristics of the experience are living situations and conditions, location selection, work placement options, and non-work related activities, frame experiences and effect impacts, influencing the nature of the narrative. Narratives are also strongly influenced by volunteer personalities and characteristics of the local culture.     

‘All present and correct?’ Exclusionary inclusion within the English educational system

This paper critically analyses discourses of educational inclusion in England through the lens of Derridean deconstruction. Linking Derrida’s thesis on writing and speech to presence and absence, the paper contends that inclusion acts as a suppléance to previous policies of integration. The paper suggests that, for many teachers, inclusion is grounded upon the forced absence of children rather than upon any notions of equality or justice.     

The Viability of Readiness Assessment in Contributing to Improved Career Services: Response to Jepsen (2000)

This article responds to D. A. Jepsen's (2000) commentary on Sampson et al.'s theory‐based approach to using readiness assessment to improve career services (J. P. Sampson, G. W. Peterson, R. C. Reardon, & J. G. Lenz, 2000). Three topics are included in this response: the reliability, validity, and utility of readiness assessment measures; verbal ability and the use of cognitive information‐processing theory in practice; and the potential contribution of reflective evaluation in career decision making. This article concludes with recommended research questions to examine the impact of readiness assessment on the effectiveness of career service delivery.     

Testing the Longitudinal Impact of Work Variables and Performance Appraisal Satisfaction on Subsequent Overall Job Satisfaction

Using a longitudinal sample of medicaltechnologists (MTs) this study found, after controllingfor prior overall job satisfaction, individualdifference, and organization-level variables, that taskresponsibilities and employee performance appraisal satisfactionsignificantly affected subsequent overall MT jobsatisfaction. Overall job satisfaction significantlydeclined for repeat-respondents over the 4-year period. Data also suggested that the impact of taskresponsibilities on overall job satisfaction candissipate over time, and that the supervisor's role inaffecting employee job satisfaction is important.Results and limitations are discussed.     

Growth Management and Agriculture: An Examination of Local Efforts to Manage Growth and Preserve Farmland in Wisconsin Cities,Villages, and Towns*

Abstract In this paper we examine the effectiveness of growth management policies in Wisconsin cities, villages, and towns. Unlike most other studies, we consider the impact of growth management policies on agriculture, specifically the preservation of farmland, in addition to population growth. Our analysis examines these relationships separately in towns and in cities/villages because of differences in their institutional structures. We mailed a survey to every city, village, and town in Wisconsin; the surveys were supplemented by data collected from several secondary sources. For both towns and cities/villages, growth management policies are related positively to the rate of population growth. The fiscal structure of localities proved to have a stronger effect on population growth for cities and villages than for towns. Growth management capacity had little effect for either type of municipality. The analysis of farmland preservation suggests that exclusive agriculture zoning is marginally effective in limiting farmland conversion in towns, but ineffective in cities/villages.     

Developing an early intervention programme to prevent child maltreatment

This paper describes the development and implementation of a programme to prevent child maltreatment in a multicultural, inner city community setting with very high rates of physical abuse and neglect. The rationale and philosophy underpinning the prevention programme is outlined. It has a unique approach, combining several features present to varying degrees in other home visiting programmes within a well‐structured framework. This includes the identification of vulnerable parents during the antenatal period, the use of generic health professionals (health visitors) in identification and intervention with families, an ‘active engagement’ strategy, the development of specialist non‐stigmatizing clinics for parents and the creation of a consultation service for generic workers. A variety of interventions are briefly described which are used to support vulnerable families. These include antenatal parenting workshops; baby massage; dedicated crying, sleeping and feeding clinics; and clinics to help parents manage toddler behaviour.Evaluation over the first 5 years of these clinics shows almost 75% of cases have successful outcomes. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.