Measuring Potency among Preschool Children: Instruments and Intervention

This study explored the impact of Potency-Focused Intervention among preschool children using a prospective research design. To achieve this aim, an instrument, the Child Adaptation Measure of Potency (CAMP), was developed to examine the construct of potency among this population. The psychometric properties of this new CAMP scale was analyzed among 90 preschool children, and the scale was proven to be both reliable and valid. Sixty-six children participated in the intervention study itself. Thirty-two children participated in an intensive intervention program, while the remaining children served as a control group. The results indicate that Potency-Focused intervention significantly enhanced potency among children in the intervention group, though it did not enhance the quality of self-concept. This finding suggests that while potency and self-concept are similar in some respects, they are separate constructs. The implications of Potency-Focused Intervention among preschool children are discussed.     

Extending the reach of randomized social experiments: new directions in evaluations of American welfare-to-work and employment initiatives

Summary. Random assignment experiments are widely used in the USA to test the effectiveness of new social interventions. This paper discusses several major welfare-to-work experiments, highlighting their evolution from simple `black box' tests of single interventions to multigroup designs used to compare alternative interventions or to isolate the effects of components of an intervention. The paper also discusses new efforts to combine experimental and non-experimental analyses to test underlying programme theories and to maximize the knowledge gained about the effectiveness of social programmes. Researchers and policy makers in other countries may find this variety of approaches useful to consider as they debate an expanded role for social experiments.     

Was Freud a Medical Scientist or a Social Theorist? The Mysterious "Development of the Hero"

Rather than viewing Freud as a presumptuous Viennese physician who late in life attempted to "apply" some of his provocative psychological speculations to various social phenomena, this essay argues that from first to last, Freud was a social theorist. Indeed, what drew Freud to the study of biology and medicine was precisely the hope of addressing scientifically the most fundamental cultural problems: the nature of man and his culture; the origins of religion, morality, and tradition and the nature of their extraordinary power; the sources of social order and disorder; the direction of contemporary cultural development; and, finally, the problem of how to live in a disenchanted and psychologically impoverished world. Reading Freud in this manner moves his "cultural" texts from the periphery to the center of his work and makes possible an appreciation of the more complex, coherent, and illuminating social theory that lies at its heart.     

The Bangladesh Health SWAp: Experience of a New Aid Instrument in Practice

Sector‐wide approaches are being widely adopted as a new aid modality, incorporating government ownership, partnership and a move from project to programme support. The literature to date on their performance in practice is, at best, mixed. This article reviews these issues in the light of the experience of arguably the world's oldest and largest SWAp, the Bangladesh health sector programme. A positive picture emerges of an evolutionary institutional adaptation towards a programme approach, with positive systemic effects on government processes and a reduction in transaction costs in dealing with donors. There are, however, negative aspects, notably, donor dominance in ‘dialogue’, though with limited influence on the government's actual strategy.     

The Effect of a Career Development Course on the Dysfunctional Career Thoughts of Racially and Ethnically Diverse College Freshmen

Pre‐ and posttests revealed that the dysfunctional career thoughts of 158 racially and ethnically diverse college freshmen were significantly reduced following a 6‐week, 1‐credit‐hour career development course. Freshmen with the highest level of dysfunctional career thinking indicated the most dramatic decrease. These reductions in dysfunctional career thinking occurred irrespective of students' gender or race/ethnicity.     

Lottery Funding and Changing Organizational Identity in the UK Voluntary Sector

This paper focuses upon ways in which National Lottery funding impacts upon aspects of identity for small- to medium-sized organizations in the United Kingdom, and highlights some of the less-anticipated difficulties that groups may experience after receipt of a grant. A large Lottery grant can facilitate rapid expansion and may necessitate a degree of organizational learning for which groups are often unprepared. The paper suggests that a Lottery grant may lead to changes in the ways in which an organization identifies itself, or is identified by stakeholders. However, these changes may not be accompanied by a corresponding change in the organization's capacity or underlying cultural ethos. On the basis of the primary research carried out in 2003, the paper examines the implications of these changes for individual organizations and for the sector more widely.     

Elder participation in cyberspace: A qualitative analysis of Israeli retirees

As computer networking becomes increasingly important, it is crucial to examine how this technology is used by the older generation. The present inquiry considers the nature and meaning of elder participation in cyberspace and the degree to which computer-mediated communication increases the social capital of older adults. The study compares 10 elder computer participants and 10 nonparticipants by means of open-ended interviews. Three primary themes emerged from the interviews. The first concerns the different conceptions of old age held by the cyber-participants and the nonparticipants, and in particular, differing views on learning capacity in later life. The second is related to the varying conceptions of time in old age, and orientation to the past or to the future. The third theme relates to the way in which the elderly persons involved in the virtual world relate to their computer, attributing human qualities to this new addition to their social network.