USE OF SELF: A PRIMER REVISITED

Use of self is a concept that is universally accepted yet equally ambiguous. Melding the professional self of what one knows (training, knowledge, techniques) with the personal self of who one is (personality traits, belief systems, and life experience) is a hallmark of skilled practice. This paper synthesizes seminal works regarding the concept of use of self and suggests a five-category typology for defining and describing use of self in social work practice. Drawing from the literature and practice wisdom gleaned from the author’s clinical, teaching, and supervisory observations, the article proposes that use of self can be operationally defined as: use of personality; use of belief system; use of relational dynamics; use of anxiety; and use of self-disclosure.     

The Leadership Role of School Administrators in Intercultural Education

Implementation of effective school programs of intercultural education require the supportive leadership of school administrators. This article provides school administrators, especially those whose schools are being heavily impacted with the diversity resulting from immigration, with an action plan for providing culturally responsive learning experiences for all students. In addition to the four steps of this action plan, the article also provides examples and references to the literature to support school administrators in building more culturally sensitive learning communities.     

Reliability estimation from field return data

In this article statistical inference for the failure time distribution of a product from “field return data”, that records the time between the product being shipped and returned for repair or replacement, is described. The problem that is addressed is that the data are not failure times because they also include the time that it took to ship and install the product and then to return it to the manufacturer for repair or replacement. The inference attempts to infer the distribution of time to failure (that is, from installation to failure) from the data when in addition there are separate data on the times from shipping to installation, and from failure to return. The method is illustrated with data from units installed in a telecommunications network. Our collaborator on writing this paper, Ed Lisay of Alcatel-Lucent, passed away suddenly in October 2008. As a tribute, we can state that Ed had an energetic and vigorous charisma in the application of his skills. He brought a sense of fun to his many interests, such as his achievement of becoming a master electrician. Ed is sadly missed by his family, friends and colleagues.     

Explaining the motivational forces of (<Emphasis Type="Italic">dis</Emphasis>)Respect: How self-focused and group-focused concerns can result in the display of group-serving efforts

The current article explains the motives underlying respect-and disrespect induced group-serving efforts. Research showed that intra-group respect increases individuals’ engagement with their group and subsequent intentions to show group-serving efforts. We refer to this process as ‘the group-focused motive’. Based on a recent program of research on actual effort and performance evaluations, we conclude that respect-induced group-serving efforts are not only due to enhanced engagement with the group. In addition, we posit that behavioral motivations can also stem from self-focused concerns — we refer to these as ‘self-focused motives’. We argue that the perception of being respected boosts the self-evaluation of individual group members. Maintenance of this positive self-evaluation, together with respect-induced enhanced self-confidence, can cause individuals to show more contextual performance. Finally, when individuals are disrespected, this impacts negatively on their self-perception. As a result, these individuals show group-serving efforts in an attempt to re-establish their self-worth, and this occurs relatively independently of improvement concerns for the group. Dick de Gilder (TC.de.Gilder@fsw.vu.nl) currently is associate professor of organizational behavior at the VU University in Amsterdam. He studied at the University of Amsterdam and received his Ph.D. from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. His research interests include organizational commitment, error management, and research management.     

关注燃气安全 促进我国燃气事业的科学发展

<正>城市燃气行业是事关国计民生的基础设施性行业。城市燃气包括城市生产、生活中使用的天然气、液化石油气、人工煤气(煤制气、重油制气)等气体燃料。随着我国城市化和新农村建设进程的加快,城市燃气的应用范围和领域日益扩大,逐步向广大新郊区、新城镇、新农村覆盖,我国的燃气事业正呈现出高速发展的局面。     

A Short-term Longitudinal Study of Children's Playground Games in Primary School: Implications for Adjustment to School and Social Adjustment in the USA and the UK

In this study we described development of boys’ and girls’ games on the school playground at recess as they progressed across the first year of primary school in London (UK) and Minneapolis (USA) in order to document age‐related trends in games during this period and to examine the predictive role of games in children's adjustment to school and more general social adjustment. Consistent with expectations, games accounted for a significant portion of children’s, but especially boys’, behavior during recess. American children played games more frequently, especially simple games, relative to English children. Consistent with expectation, the complexity of games increased, especially for boys, across the school year for children in both countries. We also examined the extent to which facility with games forecasted adjustment to school and social adjustment. Games predicted both, but only in the USA sample. Results are discussed in terms of games being an important developmental task for children of this age. Implications for future research and educational policy are discussed.     

Gambling and problem gambling among clients,and staff attitudes,in an alcohol and drug problems treatment service in the English Midlands

A self-completion questionnaire containing items about recent gambling and problem gambling used in the British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS) was completed by 274 clients of alcohol and drug problems services in the English West Midlands. Compared to BGPS data, matched to the client sample for age and sex, clients were significantly more likely in the previous 12 months to have engaged in forms of gambling carrying a high risk of problems, to have engaged in four or more separate forms of gambling, and to have scores on a brief form of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) indicating problem gambling. A self-completion scale on attitudes towards working with problem gamblers, with good psychometric properties according to present data, was completed by 91 members of staff of the same services. With the exception of a sub-scale measuring perceived adequacy of knowledge and skills for working with problem gamblers, staff expressed moderately positive attitudes. It is concluded that British substance misuse services are appropriate locations for the development of services for problem gambling.