Assessment of a State TANF Funded IDA Initiative: A Case Study

Individual development accounts (IDAs), wealth-building programs for the working poor, have existed since the late 1980s. Current research suggests that IDA programs benefit families while contributing to local and state economies. This program evaluation assessed the impact of one state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)-funded IDA initiative. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from four agencies chosen using cluster sampling across the state. Agency programmatic and participant data from the last year of operation (N?=?160) were examined. Agencies also provided contact information for three participants who had graduated and three who exited the program prematurely in the past year of operation. In person, interviews were held with agency directors (n?=?6) and IDA participants (n?=?11) were interviewed by telephone. Results indicate that 69% (n?=?111) of IDA enrollees successfully completed the program. IDA participants who exited the program prior to completion also expressed benefits associated with the time in which they were involved. Programmatic and individual benefits and challenges reported guide recommendations for improving IDA marketability, participant outcomes, and organizational performance rates. A critical implication of the findings is the need to expand the use and design of IDA programs legislatively to better serve historically oppressed and working poor families more effectively.     

Critical Components in Implementing Evidence‐based Practice: A Multiple Case Study of Individual Placement and Support for People with Psychiatric Disabilities

When developing Community Mental Health Services to support people with psychiatric disabilities, European countries are advocating evidence ‐based practice (EBP ). Individual Placement and Support (IPS ) is an evidence ‐based model designed to support people in acquiring and maintaining competitive employment. Implementation science is a growing research field, with a focus on components that impact the process of implementing EBP programmes. In this multiple case study, we have followed three IPS demonstration sites for two years, in order to describe and analyze barriers and facilitators for implementation, according to constructs described in the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (Damschroder et al. 2009 ). The results highlight the importance of strategic networking, as well as the need for planning and preparations carried out before the start of an EBP programme, since deficiencies related to these constructs are difficult to compensate for.      

刍议我国“网络暴民”典型事件及其特征

＂网络暴民＂是近几年网络媒体中的一个重要现象,在网络秩序并未得到有效控制的情况下,＂网络暴民＂现象一直受到极大的关注,从虚拟空间的攻击谩骂延伸到现实中的暴力行动,与＂网络暴民＂相关的负面舆论激起了人们关于虚拟社会、个人隐私以及网络媒体的理论反思。尽管它的出现有着自身的背景和原因,但这直接反映出当前网络媒体存在的问题,并在一定程度上影响着人们对网络新兴媒介的认识。＂网络暴民＂现象的特征包括伴随有个人隐私的公开、表现出言语侵扰和攻击、背后有经济利益的驱使、导致了现实影响的危害。     

主体创造性视域下大学生创业教育探析

主体创造性指主体在创新意识的驱动下能动地改造客观世界的过程。创业教育以培养创新意识和实践能力为主,从主体创造性上讲就是通过教育使主体将创新意识通过行动物化即现实化,进而转化为生产力的过程。据此探析大学生创业教育思想、内容设计、途径方法及模式确立。     

我国养老保险制度改革下个人福利的评价

为了比较1997年起实施的统账结合制与原先的现收现付制对个人福利的影响,首先用叠代模型对上述两种制度的运行进行比较,然后根据具体数据对两种制度下的个人福利水平进行实证分析。结果表明,影响个人福利水平的因素有个人账户收益率、人口增长率以及由劳动生产率提高所导致的工资增长率;将现收现付制改为统账结合制实际上是对个人福利水平的降低。在现阶段的中国,随着劳动生产率的提高和城市化进程的加快,工资水平的上升和城市人口的增多,使得现收现付制的养老保险制度在城镇仍具有存续条件。结合国际经验,随着人口老龄化的加剧,在将来,积累制将成为较优选择,因此,现阶段需要对个人账户基金进行多元化投资以提高个人账户收益率,从而使居民福利得到改善。     

真实固定效应空间随机前沿模型的贝叶斯估计

忽略个体效应和空间效应会严重干扰效率测算,其中忽略个体效应使得技术无效率项发生偏移,忽略空间相关性导致估计量有偏且不一致。本文基于真实固定效应随机前沿模型（引入了个体效应）,引入因变量和双边误差项的空间滞后项,构建了适用性更佳的真实固定效应空间随机前沿模型。对模型进行组内变化以消除额外参数,使用贝叶斯方法（需推导未知参数的后验分布并执行MCMC抽样）估计参数和技术效率。该方法真正克服了额外参数问题,比同类方法直观、简便。数值模拟结果表明,本文方法对参数、个体截距项及技术无效率项的估计精度均较高,且增加样本容量,估计精度变优。     

Pathways to happiness: From personality to social networks and perceived support

The present study attempts to incorporate individual personality into a social network account of subjective wellbeing (SWB) by proposing and testing a path model in which social relationships (egocentric social networks and perceived social support, PSS) mediate the relationship between personality and SWB. We found that network characteristics (including network size, emotional closeness, and proportion of new contacts) are related to SWB largely via the mediation of PSS. Additionally, network size and proportion of new contacts function as important mediating mechanisms linking extraversion, agreeableness and openness to PSS and SWB.     

基于模糊层次分析法的个人住房贷款风险评估研究

目前商业银行个人住房贷款风险管理中定性方法存在一些缺陷.在借鉴国内外个人信用评分指标构建经验的基础上,选取五大子目共19个指标形成个人信用评分指标体系,引入模糊一致判断矩阵,运用模糊层次分析法确定指标权重,从而构建了商业银行对个人住房贷款风险控制的定量模型.利用模型可以确定房贷申请者个人信用评分及等级,即按得分多少将房贷申请者个人信用划分为从AAA至C等七个不同的等级,商业银行则依据房贷申请者的信用评分等级给予不同的放款政策.     

The 'Pygmalion Syndrome': The Case of Mizrachi Lesbians in Israel

This article examines the mobilization of a lesbian identity in Israeli society by Mizrachi lesbians as a means to reach individual mobility through establishing social contacts with educated well-off professional Ashkenazi women. Based on interviews with ethnic lesbians living in steady relationships with educated professional women of the dominant group and with some of their partners, this study investigates how Mizrachi lesbians shoulder aside their distinctive features while mobilizing their lesbian identity as a means to establish connections, gain acceptance in the lesbian community, get better jobs, and succeed in schooling. Upon both professional and personal success, Mizrachi lesbians come to terms with their origins, redefine their identity components, and form a distinctive ethnic-lesbian identity to be supported with a strong ideology. While the obliteration of ethnic traits in favor of acceptance in the lesbian community allows mobility on a personal basis, it reinforces the invisibility of ethnic lesbians and reproduces the power relations between dominant and ethnic groups in Israel.     

Risk and Social Work Practice

Abstract

Risk assessment and risk management have emerged as central organising principles for an increasing number of health and welfare programs. As a consequence, the language, technologies and imperatives of risk have assumed considerable prominence in the practice of many social workers. The present paper addresses three significant and contemporary explanations for the rise of risk in the day-to-day work of many social workers. In the context of these approaches, the paper examines some of the challenges risk presents to professional and ethical social work practice. Four issues with particular meanings and impacts for social work are discussed, namely the priority of risk over need, changing professional roles, relocation of responsibility to individuals, and the culture of blame.