Evaluating social exclusion interventions in university-community partnerships

Most university-community partnerships (UCPs) involve elements of community-level social exclusion interventions. As such, they face substantial challenges in management and evaluation. This paper highlights the central challenges associated with evaluation of UCP and other social exclusion interventions at the community level, and suggests methods to overcome them. The main body of the paper presents a case study based on a four-year action research involving evaluation of a social exclusion intervention initiated and implemented by a UCP in Israel. The case study highlights the challenges faced by the evaluation team, the solutions provided, and the contribution of the evaluation to improvement and accountability.     

Editorial

Undergoing a traumatic experience can be a life-changing event, having a significant impact on individuals, families, communities, workplaces and societies. Traumatology is therefore a complex field of study demanding a sophisticated level of understanding to serve as a theory base. This article explores the potential for existentialist philosophy to make an important contribution to our understanding of trauma and its effects. It presents trauma as an existential injury and explores the psychosocial basis of traumatic experience — that is, conceptualising trauma as having both psychological and sociological dimensions, the combination of which has profound existential resonances. While the theoretical ideas discussed can be applied to trauma at any stage in the life course, this paper focuses in particular on childhood trauma. Consequently, child abuse is used as an example of how trauma can have a significant (and detrimental) effect on identity development, invoking a need for a commitment to trauma recovery.     

“Either Side of Delphy Bridge”: A deep mapping project evoking and engaging the lives of older adults in rural North Cornwall

This article reports on work to date by an arts practice-led research team exploring older adults’ conceptions of, and connectivity with, the physical, social and cultural landscapes in which they locate themselves. The team is based at the Department of Art and Design, University of the West of England (UWE) and has conducted fieldwork, interviews and small-scale interactions in an area of rural North Cornwall with a view to “deep mapping” older adults’ “lived landscapes” using a variety of practical methods derived from creative arts practices, critical reflection on deep mapping, ethnographic approaches, and referencing a range of theoretical positions. The project forms part of a work package within “Grey and Pleasant Land? An interdisciplinary exploration of the connectivity of older people in rural civic society” (abbreviated below as GaPL), funded by the UK Cross-Research Council ‘New Dynamics of Ageing’ Programme. In what follows we will describe and critically discuss the fieldwork undertaken and the various ways in which the performative interactions and the creative multimedia evocations that draw on the team’s interactions with older people might extend the growing dialogue between deep mapping, visual and other innovative ethnographies, and critical gerontology.     

Integrating Existentialism and Super's Life‐Span,Life‐Space Approach

As workers face a changing and ever‐complex employment landscape, traditional career theories and approaches may not be sufficient in meeting career challenges. Calls for integrated career theories have emerged as more people seek meaning and purpose in their lives and careers. This article proposes a career counseling option that integrates existentialism and Super's (1990) life‐span, life‐space approach to establish a foundation for a broader approach to career development that views clients holistically by exploring life and career meaning and purpose from a developmental perspective. A case example and interventions are provided to demonstrate practical application and a contextual framework, along with implications for counselors.     

Barriers to Integrated Treatment of Substance Abuse and Trauma Among Women

Despite increasing empirical support for an integrated approach to treating trauma and substance abuse, many substance abuse treatment programs have been slow to embrace integrated models of practice. Using an embedded case study design, the purpose of this study was to understand barriers that prevented a substance abuse treatment provider and 20 professionals and staff from adopting an integrated approach to treating substance abuse and trauma. Data analysis revealed 2 kinds of barriers that prevented substance abuse treatment professionals from fully integrating substance abuse and trauma: systemic and professional barriers. These barriers have to be taken into account when trying to move providers and professionals toward integrated approaches to treating substance abuse and trauma.     

中国哲学创造性转化的路径

中国哲学要进行现代性转化已成为人们的普遍共识,但如何转化尚无定论。本文认为,实现中国哲学创造性转化的路经为:同情地了解和理性地审视中国哲学,唤起历史记忆,激发传统资源;对中国哲学进行创造性的诠释,挖掘精神智慧,纳入思考框架;实现中国哲学的现代性转型,创新哲学形态,转换哲学范式;实践性地运用中国哲学,将其化为生活智慧,引导现代人的生活。     

Effects of a Solution-Focused Program on the Reduction of Aggressiveness and the Improvement of Social Readjustment for Korean Youth Probationers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this investigation was to explore appropriate intervention methods for helping Korean youth probationers reduce their aggressiveness and increase their social adjustment. This study examined the effectiveness of solution-focused group treatment with Korean youth probationers using a pre- and post-test control group design. The researcher randomly assigned the consented 40 participants either to an experimental group that received the solution-focused session or to a control group that took individual supportive sessions on a needed basis. The pre- and post-test scores of each group were compared using the Aggressiveness and Social Readjustment Questionnaire to confirm the levels of statistical significance between the two groups. Results indicate that solution-focused group treatment was followed by positive changes with the participants' aggressiveness and social adjustment problems. This study also suggests that a solution-focused program is an appropriate short-term intervention for Korean probation youth.     

中国当下依法治国对孙中山“训政”思想的新发展——关于中国法治现代化阶段论的思考

当前中国特色社会主义法治与孙中山先生的“训政”相比,两者相似之处在于都坚持一党执政,并将此视为法治现代化进程中不可或缺的一个阶段性特征;不同之处在于两者的内容和性质发生了根本变化。内容的变化主要体现在社会基础发生巨大变化和民主成分获得较大增长;性质的变化主要体现在它不再是资本主义而是中国特色社会主义性质。以一党长期执政、不搞西方多党竞争为特点的中国特色社会主义法治长期存在的原因是：中国属于后发的政府主导的赶超型现代化国家,没有形成橄榄形社会结构,需要通过建立能够集中力量办大事的政治体制,实现中国的“富”与“强”。     

论行政责任

责任行政是我国公共行政改革追求的一项重要价值。为此,我们应从行政责任体系的涵义和内容、公共行政实践中行政责任的缺位及其原因、行政责任培育的途径等三个方面对行政责任问题深入认识。