‘Tell Me and I Forget,Teach Me and I May Remember,Involve Me and I Learn. And That's What It's About.’ How a Co‐design Methodology is Used in the Delivery of Parents Building Solutions: A Qualitative Study

There are many parenting programs delivered in Australia and Parents Building Solutions (PBS) is one of these. Collaboratively designed by Parentzone staff of Anglicare Victoria, it has a twenty year history of building the evidence base. PBS stands apart from other programs because parents actively co‐design the sessions and content with skilled facilitators. Understanding the drivers, processes and practices that make the co‐design methodology work, is fundamental to the implementation science that underpins the program.This study aimed to examine the way co‐design was used in the delivery of PBS, specifically looking at program implementation and outcomes. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with Parentzone staff (team leaders and facilitators) and parents who had recently completed a program. Ethics approval was provided and analysis was conducted using NVivo software with co‐design as the unit of analysis. Three major themes about co‐design were present across team leaders, facilitators and parents: 1) responsiveness and flexibility are central to the functionality of co‐design within PBS; 2) facilitators implement the co‐design methodology using a suite of knowledge and skills; and 3) parents report tangible results from participating in a co‐designed parenting program. There was an overwhelming appreciation from both facilitators and parents about the co‐designed implementation style. Facilitators and team leaders highly valued the flexibility of the program which enabled their ability to respond to parent's needs. Furthermore, parents believed they achieved tangible outcomes derived from strategies and support delivered in the program. The co‐design methodology used in PBS was evident for all stakeholders and was a driver of program implementation and its outcomes. The methodology described in this has practice implications for family therapists and others who work directly parents and families.     

Concurrent Participation in Federally-Funded Welfare Programs and Empowerment Toward Economic Self-Sufficiency

This research examined the impact of participation in federal means-tested welfare programs on the attainment and maintenance of economic self-sufficiency. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this quasi-experimental investigation compartmentalized 4216 low-income households into an intervention group (n?=?2436) and a comparison group (n?=?1780). Households in the intervention group received one or more welfare benefits for the most part of the 2008–2013 quinquennium. By contrast, those in the comparison group – although eligible for these benefits – did not receive them. The survey respondents were measured repeatedly over a 56-month period to assess whether welfare receipt impacts their household income steadily beyond 150% of the federal poverty level, after controlling for known predictors. Multivariate analyses displayed medium effect sizes indicating that participation in public assistance did decrease the likelihood of economic self-sufficiency. Macro-implications of these findings for poverty and social welfare stakeholders were discussed.     

情感类电视节目中“消费苦难”的道德考辨

情感类电视节目热衷于消费个体苦难以博得观众同情,赢取高收视率。以异化“消费苦难”的职业性行为来唤起社会大众内在的情感认同继而获得收益,已成为情感类电视节目制作者的一种营销手段,其本质反映的是对人性的消遣、对情感的消费和对道德的亵渎。从哲学语义来看,“消费苦难”是以引起道德感动、情感认同为内需性的一种社会生活方式,是人实现积极社会化的一种行为方式,是人自由发觉自身“善的系统”的一个过程,具有情感性、社会性和个体性的特征。异化“消费苦难”使情感类电视节目存在道德认知失真、道德情感失真、道德判断失真、道德行为失真等问题,必须通过坚守道德底线,排除道德真空;牢筑职业道德,重视行业伦理;恪守道德情操,提高道德判断;完善制度规定,明确行为责任等路径实现“消费苦难”哲学语义的回归。     

Loyalty programmes in the gambling industry: potentials for harm and possibilities for harm-minimization

The field of gambling studies has been remarkably silent on loyalty programmes in the gambling industry. This article reviews the scant empirical literature, with an aim to stimulate discussion and research about the impact of loyalty programme membership on players. Preliminary evidence suggests that disordered gamblers are more apt to join a loyalty programme and be disproportionately rewarded (due to the amount of money they spend gambling) relative to recreational and at-risk gamblers. As such, loyalty programmes in the gambling industry may generate harms in vulnerable individuals. However, loyalty programmes may also be well positioned to facilitate harm-minimization by promoting behavioural tracking that is collected on every member – information that can be provided to players to advance responsible gambling. Additionally, members could be rewarded for engagement with responsible gambling tools, which may increase the currently low rate of tool use. That said, structuring loyalty programmes to reward the use of responsible gambling instruments with time on device or even non-monetary prizes may be incompatible with harm-minimization efforts. There exists a need for empirical research on the antecedents and consequences of loyalty programme membership as well as the possibility that loyalty programmes have some responsibility gambling utility.     

Gerontological Competencies among MSW Students: Evaluation of a Gerontology Specialization Program

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of a gerontology specialization program (GSP) within a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)–accredited master of social work (MSW) program. This study utilized a pretest/posttest design with a three-group comparison: group 1—GSP students; group 2—students from the group 1 program but not in GSP; and group 3—students at two external MSW programs with no GSPs. The overall sample comprised 220 advanced year students. A CSWE Gero-Ed Center/Hartford Partnership empirical measure was used to assess overall, gero social work practice competency. Within-group analyses revealed a significant increase in gero competency scores from pretest to posttest among all groups, with GSP students showing the largest increase. Between-group analysis at pretest revealed that the GSP group showed lower gero competency scores than both non-GSP groups. At posttest, these results overturned: GSP students scored significantly higher gero competency scores than both non-GSP groups. These preliminary findings suggest that the GSP offers an impactful, positive role in development of practice skills for the next generation of gero social work practitioners and scholars. A follow-up study with additional years of data will increase longitudinal rigor and confidence in the long-range efficacy of this GSP.     

An Australian doula program for socially disadvantaged women: Developing realist evaluation theories

ProblemVolunteer doula support has achieved favourable outcomes for socially disadvantaged women around the world. There is limited explanatory understanding of how, why and when doula support programs improve outcomes.BackgroundA community organisation is providing free doula support for women experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage in Melbourne, Australia. The program aims to complement the mainstream maternity care system, to promote equity in women’s care, and experiences of pregnancy, birth and early parenting. This program is the first of its kind in Australia and has not previously been evaluated.AimTo develop hypothesised program theories for the realist evaluation of an Australian doula program.MethodsAs the first stage of a realist evaluation, three key informant interviews and rapid realist review of literature were conducted in December 2017 - January 2019.FindingsSeven theories were developed in four categories: critical elements of implementation (Attracting and activating the right doulas, and Good matching); outcomes for women (Being by her side, and Facilitating social connection), outcomes in maternity care system (Complementing or enhancing maternity care, and Doula as a witness — demanding accountability in others), and outcomes for doulas (Doulas as beneficiaries). These theories were framed in accordance with a realist understanding of causation, as Context – Mechanism – Outcome (CMO) configurations.Discussion and conclusionThe development of theories from multiple sources of evidence provides a strong theoretical base for program evaluation. The theories hypothesise how, why, for whom and when the doula program works. Subsequent stages of the evaluation will test and refine the theories.     

美国食品券项目的历史发展与运营管理

食品券项目是美国联邦政府解决低收入者温饱和营养问题的重要措施,在构建社会安全网过程中发挥重要作用。食品券项目兼具福利政策、农业政策和经济政策三重功能,并具有完善的法律体系、明确的责任分工、稳定的资金来源和全面的质量控制体系。美国食品券项目半个多世纪的管理运作对中国完善低收入者保障制度具有重要借鉴意义。     

农村干部对计划生育奖励扶助政策的认知与评价——基于对吉林省部分农村地区的调查

调查表明,农村基层干部普遍对计划生育奖励扶助政策的作用给予高度评价,对奖励扶助对象规定的合理性持基本肯定态度。大多数干部认为,奖励扶助政策在推动群众生育观念转变、纠正出生性别比失调、稳定人们政策生育行为和促进计划生育工作开展等方面不同程度地发挥了作用。奖励扶助政策对于一些农民家庭转变为城市户口的意愿产生微弱的抑制作用。提高奖励扶助标准、扩大奖励扶助对象范围、政策能够持续和降低享受奖励扶助政策的最低年龄等,是农村干部对改进完善计划生育奖励扶助制度的主要建议。     

通过学生科研立项培养大学生多方面能力

高等教育要充分利用学生科研立项这一有效形式,培养大学生的创新能力、科研能力、自学能力、团队协作精神和组织协调能力、写作、语言表达与逻辑思维能力等综合素质。