Leadership efficacy: Review and future directions

The concept of leader efficacy has received relatively little attention in the leadership literature. This is somewhat surprising given that effective leadership requires high levels of agency (i.e., deliberately or intentionally exerting positive influence) and confidence. This review uses existing theory and research on leader efficacy as a point of departure for proposing an expanded and multi-level framework for understanding the domain of leadership efficacy that includes leader, follower, and collective efficacies. The primary goals are to provide a conceptual framework to stimulate future theory and research on building efficacious leadership and to understand how such leadership develops and has implications for effective performance.     

试论民族社会工作者文化能力的培养

文化能力是社会工作者必备的专业能力之一,在社会工作专业关系的建立与维持,界定案主的问题与需要方面发挥着重要的作用。民族社会工作是社会工作的一个分支学科,民族社会工作的主要服务对象是带有独特文化的民族成员。因此,民族社会工作者的文化能力在民族社会工作实务过程中显得尤为重要。如何培养并提高自己的文化能力,提高服务的质量成为民族社会工作者必须要考虑的问题。本文围绕民族社会工作者文化能力培养这一主题,从文化能力的概念与内涵、培养文化能力的必要性、文化能力的理论基础与基本假设以及文化能力的培养途径等四个方面探讨了民族社会工作者的文化能力培养问题。     

Estimation of Stratified Mark‐Specific Proportional Hazards Models with Missing Marks

Abstract. An objective of randomized placebo‐controlled preventive HIV vaccine efficacy trials is to assess the relationship between the vaccine effect to prevent infection and the genetic distance of the exposing HIV to the HIV strain represented in the vaccine construct. Motivated by this objective, recently a mark‐specific proportional hazards (PH) model with a continuum of competing risks has been studied, where the genetic distance of the transmitting strain is the continuous ‘mark’ defined and observable only in failures. A high percentage of genetic marks of interest may be missing for a variety of reasons, predominantly because rapid evolution of HIV sequences after transmission before a blood sample is drawn from which HIV sequences are measured. This research investigates the stratified mark‐specific PH model with missing marks where the baseline functions may vary with strata. We develop two consistent estimation approaches, the first based on the inverse probability weighted complete‐case (IPW) technique, and the second based on augmenting the IPW estimator by incorporating auxiliary information predictive of the mark. We investigate the asymptotic properties and finite‐sample performance of the two estimators, and show that the augmented IPW estimator, which satisfies a double robustness property, is more efficient.     

Pilot Evaluation of a Sexual Abuse Prevention Program for Taiwanese Children

The purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a school-based child sexual abuse prevention program for Taiwanese children. Forty-six Taiwanese children age 6 to 13 were divided into one of two groups based on their school grade and then randomly assigned to a skills-based child sexual abuse prevention program who received training immediately or a waiting-list control condition who received the training after a delay. Children's self-protection skills improved regardless of age after participation in the program. The program, however, did not successfully improve children's knowledge of sexuality and safety. Although future studies should modify the program content to better target knowledge of sexuality and safety, these results are promising for a pilot of this skills-based CSA prevention program in Taiwan.     

Using Photovoice to Empower Youth and Adults to Prevent Crime

Photovoice empowers residents to use photographs to identify neighborhood concerns. Although Photovoice has been used to facilitate dialogue and action among residents to address a variety of issues, including neighborhood crime, it has not been used as part of an intervention to promote collective efficacy. This project integrated Photovoice into a crime-prevention program the goal of which was to facilitate collective efficacy, which. in turn, has been associated with lower levels of neighborhood crime and violence. Twenty-four racially diverse youth and adults participated in a crime-prevention training where Photovoice was used first to identify neighborhood characteristics that participants believed contributed to and alleviated crime, and then to develop a community project. Participants worked together to reuse a highly visible vacant lot to create an inviting neighborhood art and garden space that was open to the whole community. This process facilitated stronger social ties among neighborhood residents, as well as strategies for intervening in neighborhood problems, both of which are important components of collective efficacy.     

Efficacy and safety of orally disintegrating tamsulosin tablets in Taiwanese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia

Objectives: Tamsulosin is an alpha-1 adrenoceptor antagonist applied in treating lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This study aimed to evaluate safety, efficacy and acceptance of newly formulated orally disintegrating tamsulosin tablets in Taiwanese patients with LUTS/BPH. Methods: This single center, non-comparative, observational study enrolled 45 male patients over age 50 years. All patients received 0.2?mg tamsulosin orally disintegrating tablets daily and were evaluated at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12 of the 12-week treatment period. Tamsulosin efficacy was evaluated by International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) with 7 questions on urinary symptoms and one disease-specific quality-of-life question, with scores ranging from 0 (no symptoms) to 35 (highly symptomatic). Maximum flow rate (ml/s), voided volume (ml), flow time (s), and mean flow rate (ml/s) were measured. Danish prostatic symptom sexual function scale rated severity and associated concerns of erection quality, ejaculatory function and pain/discomfort were also assessed. Results: Patients’ mean ± SD age was 62.47?±?7.77 (range: 50–89) and mean ± SD I-PSS was 13.98?±?5.50. Statistically significant changes from baseline were found in post-test I-PSS and quality of life (both P < 0.001). Mean ± SD I-PSS decreased from 14.30?±?9.34 to 6.73?±?0.88 at patients’ final visit. Statistically significant increases in mean maximum flow rate and mean flow rate were found over 12-week study period (P < 0.05). No adverse events were reported. No significant differences were found in pulse, SBP/DBP or sexual function. Conclusion: Orally disintegrating tamsulosin tablets demonstrate acceptable safety and efficacy for acceptance and well tolerance by Taiwanese LUTS/BPH patients.     

Applying Complexity and Emergence in Social Work Education

Complexity theory provides social work educators, researchers, and evaluators with a promising approach for examining the concepts of interconnectedness, non‐linearity and emergence. This paper introduces complexity theory, provides an example in which a large international non‐governmental organization developed the capacity to address the issue of human trafficking, and discusses implications for applying this approach to social work education coursework. Social work applications of complexity range from understanding emerging social movements, to encouraging human rights and resiliency in target populations, to understanding the interdependencies of communities.     

Students' Use of Self: Teaching Implications

Social workers acknowledge that they bring more than their professional skills and knowledge to practice, hence the emphasis in many social work programs on enhancing students' self knowledge. After a general overview of self‐knowledge activities for students, the gap between insight and practice is highlighted. The empirical literature is reviewed to find specific and purposeful self enactments, defined as functional ways in which workers intentionally apply their self to practice. Located within professional boundaries, such self enactments potentially form the basis upon which students might consider how to apply their own personal self.     

中国老年人自评健康影响因素分析

利用2008/2009年全国老年人口健康状况调查截面数据以及2002—2008/2009年纵向数据,应用有序Logit模型以及固定效果模型方法,分析中国老年人自评健康状况及其影响因素。研究发现,我国老年人的社会人口学特征、经济状况、健康状况、社会参与、生活满意度等因素与其自评健康显著相关,截面数据定序Logit模型和纵向数据固定效果模型均通过统计学显著性检验,而社会参与、生活满意度对自评健康的有益影响在两个模型中是一致的。     

翻译训练视角下的大学英语课程教学研究*

在一个英语为非母语的国家进行英语教学,其主要目的在于培养学习者应用英语进行交际的能力,而并非掌握其基本知识和对其进行深入研究。以往的大学英语教学忽视了对学生进行经常性英语翻译训练,导致学生通过学习仅仅掌握了考试的技巧,而不善于进行流畅而有效的交流。翻译训练贯穿在大学英语整个课程教学中,是英语教学不可缺少的重要组成部分,也是培养学生英语应用能力的基本方法和手段。