The collaborative push: moving beyond rhetoric and gaining evidence

Collaboration has been enacted as a core strategy by both the government and nongovernment sectors to address many of the intractable issues confronting contemporary society. The cult of collaboration has become so pervasive that it is now an elastic term referring generally to any form of ‘working together’. The lack of specificity about collaboration and its practice means that it risks being reduced to mere rhetoric without sustained practice or action. Drawing on an extensive data set (qualitative, quantitative) of broadly collaborative endeavours gathered over 10 years in Queensland, Australia, this paper aims to fill out the black box of collaboration. Specifically it examines the drivers for collaboration, dominant structures and mechanisms adopted, what has worked and unintended consequences. In particular it investigates the skills and competencies required in an embedded collaborative endeavour within and across organisations. Social network analysis is applied to isolate the structural properties of collaborations over other forms of integration as well as highlighting key roles and tasks. Collaboration is found to be a distinctive form of working together, characterised by intense and interdependent relationships and exchanges, higher levels of cohesion (density) and requiring new ways of behaving, working, managing and leading. These elements are configured into a practice framework. Developing an empirical evidence base for collaboration structure, practice and strategy provides a useful foundation for theory extension. The paper concludes that for collaboration, to be successfully employed as a management strategy it must move beyond rhetoric and develop a coherent model for action.     

THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS RESOURCES IN THE PREDICTION OF MATTERING TO OTHERS: AFRICAN AMERICAN AND WHITE CONTRASTS

The perception of mattering, defined as one's perceived significance to others, is likely influenced by the interpersonal and intrapersonal dimensions of religious faith. Using data from a community study conducted in Miami-Dade County, this study examines whether private and public aspects of religiosity are independently as well as mutually associated with perceptions of mattering, net of secular social resources. We also consider whether the availability of religious and secular resources varies by race/ethnicity, and whether such differences account for race/ethnic differences in perceptions of mattering. Findings demonstrate that private religiosity and membership in a religious organization, in addition to secular social support and integration, are independently associated with perceptions of mattering. Findings also reveal that, compared to Whites, the higher levels of mattering reported by African Americans are largely explained by their higher levels of private religiosity and greater likelihood of belonging to religious organizations and attending religious services.     

Fingers,Flexors and Flaps: Impressions of a Hand Unit Social Worker

This paper examines the first six months the author spent as social worker in the Hand Unit, Sydney Hospital. She describes her introduction to the Unit, how she set about learning a completely new area of expertise and offers some case examples. She discovers that because the hand is so crucial to our self perception, damage to it cannot be taken lightly. Further, hand injuries can often mask much deeper emotional injuries that must be treated. The social work role in the Hand Unit is as diverse as it is important.     

Gambling Behaviour in Adolescents with Learning Disorders

The present study examined the prevalence of disordered gambling behaviours in a community-based sample of adolescents (N = 532) living in eastern central Ontario. Of particular interest was examining the hypothesis that adolescents with learning disorders are at elevated risk for disordered gambling. Rates of disordered gambling in male adolescents with learning disorders were found to be significantly higher than adolescents without learning problems, even after controlling for negative affectivity and ADHD symptomatology. The implications for treatment and intervention of gambling problems in adolescence are discussed.     

A usable body: coaxing the body into and out of captivity at the museum

The visual logic of ‘black’ identity as a social and historical fact is presented at museums depicting the transformation of enslaved Africans to racial citizens. I focus on the work of the body in narrating this transition at a black history museum: the historical object on display – the captive African and later the US citizen – and the imagined visitor moving through the physical space of the museum. I consider the visual treatment of the enslaved body in captivity as broken, bowed, beaten and often nude in contrast to the post-abolition period when the body is positioned as erect, individuated, self-possessed and always clothed. I also discuss how the imagined visitor’s body is oriented both to the narratives on display and to the built environment of the museum itself.     

Unresolved struggles: Educating social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand

This article introduces key themes that arise throughout the history of social work education and are central to the education of social workers today. Curriculum and the goodness of fit between agency demands and professional standards, accreditation, provision of social work courses, and more recently, the competency movement, have constantly been significant, albeit in changing forms. In New Zealand, cultural awareness and knowledge of indigenous models for practice together with re-organisation of social service delivery systems have implications for social work education. Managerial devices such as the purchaser/provider split and risk/case management approaches to social work and their impact on social work education and practice are discussed. The role of the national accrediting body and the ensuing tensions around accreditation are discussed. A discussion of opportunities and concerns for the future considers relationships between those who teach social work, those who practice it, their employers and the role of Industry Training Organisations.     

Abstinence and Relapse Rates Following a College Campus-Based Quit & Win Contest

Abstract

Objective: To conduct and evaluate Quit & Win contests at 2 2-year college and 2 4-year university campuses. Participants: During Spring semester, 2006, undergraduates (N = 588) interested in quitting smoking signed up for a Quit & Win 30-day cessation contest for a chance to win a lottery prize. Methods: Participants (N = 588) completed a baseline survey, provided a urine sample to verify smoking status before joining the contest, and completed a follow-up survey at contest end to assess abstinence. Participants reporting continuous 30-day abstinence were surveyed again 2 weeks post contest to assess relapse. Results: Participants smoked an average of 9.8 ± 6.7 cigarettes/day on 26.7 ± 5.7 days/month. Among participants completing a follow-up survey (74%), 72.1% reported abstinence during the entire contest period (Intent-to-Treat Analysis = 53.2%). 55.3% of those abstinent at the end of contest had resumed smoking 2 weeks post contest. Conclusions: Campus Quit & Win contests appear feasible, acceptable, and effective at facilitating short-term abstinence. Further research is needed to identify strategies to prevent postcontest relapse.