Ready for Qualified Practice? A Comparative Study of Capability for Critical Reflection and Analysis of MA Social Work and MA Step Up to Social Work Students at the End of Second Placement

Social Work education is faced with substantial changes. New programmes like Step Up to Social Work have emerged and were evaluated in relation to intake, programme development and subjective student experiences. The lack of evidence on outcomes of such programmes was addressed in this study. In a comparative study of a MA in Social Work and a MA in Step Up to Social Work, the authors analysed students' capability to critically reflect on and analyse social work practice scenarios at the end of their final placement at one university. The PCF domain ‘Critical Reflection and Analysis’ was operationalised and the study design employed qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Demographic data, academic marks achieved during social work education and written reflections on case vignettes from the two programmes were analysed statistically. The findings suggest that, while there are some differences in outcomes between the programmes, they are not statistically significant. However, reflections on children and family vignettes were significantly better (U = 185, p = 0.008). Thematic analysis revealed considerable variation in the levels of curiosity and critical thinking and those respondents who framed their answers with reference to policy guidance, theory and research often extended their critical thinking.     

Making bowels move: Justice without the limits of reason alone

Abstract

This paper responds to the violence inherent in modern ‘formal’ conceptions of justice which sever the ‘cultural’ from the ‘political’. As a counterpoint to this dominant rendering of justice the paper explores an alternate justice whose character is typified by the disposition and exigencies of the viscera.     

Four Books on Nonprofit Boards and Governance

Governing Boards, by Cyril O. Houle. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, 1997. 223 pp., $21.95 paper. Boards That Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations, by John Carver. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997, 241 pp., $28.95 cloth. Perfect Nonprofit Boards: Myths, Paradoxes, and Paradigms, by Stephen R. Block. Needham Heights, Mass.: Simon & Schuster, 1998, 149 pp., $21.95 paper. Nonprofit Boards: Roles, Responsibilities, and Performance, by Diane J. Duca. New York: Wiley, 1996, 192 pp., $29.95 cloth.     

Who gives a damn about intellectually disabled people and their families? Care-less spaces personified in the case of LB

On 5 October 2015 the inquest into Connor Sparrowhawk’s death began. A young autistic man, aged 18, died in the bath on 4 July 2013. He had a seizure. The rolling tweets from @LBInquest are harrowing to say the least. Unimaginable torture for Sara and Richard (his mother and step-father), as well as his siblings and others caring. Comments from the inquest such as ‘I felt that Connor should be checked on every 5 or 10 minutes when he was in the bath because of his epilepsy’ and ‘ensuring someone was outside the door when he was bathing was basic nursing care’ sound all the alarm bells for lack of care, because allegedly this did not happen. Clearly there was no one person looking out for him when he needed it the most. On 16 October 2015 the inquest jury found Connor’s death was contributed by neglect. This article will explore the absence of care in a care-less system.     

Competing for tots: operating objectives and characteristics of for-profit and not-for-profit child care centres in the Pacific Northwest

Child care services are provided by profit-oriented businesses, not-forprofit agencies and governmental units. This paper compares goal priorities and operating characteristics of not-for-profit and for-profit child care centres in parts of Canada and the United States. Directors of 292 Pacific Northwest centres responded to a survey about their financial and non-financial operating objectives. The relative rankings of objectives were similar for not-for-profit and for-profit centres, and for centres in both countries. Non-financial objectives were rated higher than financial objectives. Satisfying the developmental and educational needs of children was the single most important operating objective. Providing access to eligible children was the next most important objective, particularly for not-for-profit centres and for those with government-subsidised children. The remaining objectives, in order of importance, were minimising costs, maximising utilisation, maximising revenues and maximising profits. Profit maximisation was ranked low by both not-for-profit and for-profit respondents. Not-for-profit and for-profit centres exhibited differences on a number of operating characteristics, services provided and employee benefits. Such characteristics were found to be associated with auspices (not-for-profit or for-profit) and location (US or Canada). Results suggest that centres operating under both auspices are capable of altruistic behaviour. Differences in motivation between organisational forms were very small. However, variations in operating characteristics and services suggest that the objectives are achieved in dissimilar ways.     

Subgroup analyses in cost‐effectiveness analyses to support health technology assessments

‘Success’ in drug development is bringing to patients a new medicine that has an acceptable benefit–risk profile and that is also cost‐effective. Cost‐effectiveness means that the incremental clinical benefit is deemed worth paying for by a healthcare system, and it has an important role in enabling manufacturers to obtain new medicines to patients as soon as possible following regulatory approval. Subgroup analyses are increasingly being utilised by decision‐makers in the determination of the cost‐effectiveness of new medicines when making recommendations. This paper highlights the statistical considerations when using subgroup analyses to support cost‐effectiveness for a health technology assessment. The key principles recommended for subgroup analyses supporting clinical effectiveness published by Paget et al. are evaluated with respect to subgroup analyses supporting cost‐effectiveness. A health technology assessment case study is included to highlight the importance of subgroup analyses when incorporated into cost‐effectiveness analyses. In summary, we recommend planning subgroup analyses for cost‐effectiveness analyses early in the drug development process and adhering to good statistical principles when using subgroup analyses in this context. In particular, we consider it important to provide transparency in how subgroups are defined, be able to demonstrate the robustness of the subgroup results and be able to quantify the uncertainty in the subgroup analyses of cost‐effectiveness. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mandatory Public Benefit Reporting as a Basis for Charity Accountability: Findings from England and Wales

Charitable status is inherently linked in many jurisdictions with the requirement that an entity must be established for public benefit. But, until recently the public benefit principle had relatively little impact on the operations of most established charities. However, in England and Wales, reforms linked to the «Charities Act 2006» led to a new requirement for public benefit reporting in the trustees’ annual report (TAR) of every registered charity. This new narrative reporting requirement had the potential to affect the understanding of accountability by charities. The paper investigates the impact of that requirement through a study of over 1,400 sets of charity reports and accounts and subsequent qualitative work with trustees and others involved in preparing TARs.     

Associations Between Sexual Abuse and Negative Health Consequences Among High-Risk Men Who Have Sex with Men

This study evaluated whether a history of sexual abuse could differentiate negative health consequences among men who have sex with men (MSM; N = 148) enrolled in a risk counseling program. More than half (51.4%) reported an experience of sexual abuse. A history of sexual abuse was associated with increased psychological distress, increased rates of alcohol (AOR = 2.91; p <.01) and/or drug abuse (AOR = 2; p <.01) treatment, increased risk of housing instability (AOR = 2.13; p <.05), and increased risk for suicidality (AOR = 4.3; p <.001). Findings demonstrate that screening for sexual abuse may be useful in determining the service needs of high-risk MSM.     

Virtual support groups among adoptive parents: Ideal for information seeking?

Abstract

Despite the use of online support groups within areas of child welfare, namely postadoptive services, research in this area has not kept pace. This study examined adoptive parent perceptions of a virtual platform utilized for an online support group, and the impact of these perceptions on information seeking effectiveness. Overall, findings indicate that participants viewed the platform as usable, flexible, and congruent with fostering adequate participant interaction. Perceived group interaction, satisfaction with group membership, and perceived usefulness of the virtual platform were all significant predictors of information seeking effectiveness. Data from this study suggest that ample consideration should be given to the form and function of - virtual platforms use to administer support groups. Implications for practice and apposite area of future research are discussed.     

Decoupling: A Key Fantasy of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda

Abstract

Central to the United Nations’ post-2015 development agenda grounded in the Sustainable Development Goals is the notion of ‘decoupling’: the need to divorce economic growth from its ecological impact. For proponents, decoupling entails increasing the efficiency with which value is derived from natural resources in order to reconcile indefinite economic growth with environmental sustainability. However, even advocates admit that the idea of decoupling remains poorly conceptualized and subject to scant empirical investigation. This persistent commitment to a highly questionable idea suggests the possibility of a deeper psychological dynamic at work here. Drawing on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, in this article we therefore analyze decoupling as a ‘fantasy’ that functions to obfuscate fundamental tensions among the goals of poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, and profitable enterprise that it is intended to reconcile. In this way, decoupling serves to sustain faith in the possibility of attaining sustainable development within the context of a neoliberal capitalist economy that necessitates continual growth to confront inherent contradictions.