Non-government organization study awards: enhancing successful completion of social work qualification

ABSTRACT

The current study used a sequential, exploratory mixed-method design to explore how a social work study scholarship implemented in Aotearoa New Zealand impacted on recipients’ qualification completion and their professional and practice competence. Phase one involved 13 individual interviews with past award recipients which described how the study award impacted on their qualification completion. Thematic analysis was used to extract themes. These themes were examined in the second phase through a quantitative battery completed by 107 past recipients to examine their professional and practice competence. The findings from interviews showed the award enabled recipients to complete their studies and improve their social work practice without causing undue stress or financial pressure on the recipient and their family. Quantitative analysis corroborated and extended these findings to demonstrate that the award contributed to lifting the level of social work knowledge, competence, and skills in the recipients. Accompanying the successful qualification completion, these qualified social workers were equipped with essential skills, promoting social work values and competence to contribute and safeguard the benefit of children, families, and communities. The awards offered a ‘wrap around’ support and was not limited by age or ethnicity but provided a support system to achieve qualification completion.     

Living Arrangements and Quality of Life Among Chinese Canadian Elders

This paper examines the role of living arrangements in thequality of life of community-dwelling Chinese elders (aged 65 andover) currently residing in Vancouver and Victoria, BritishColumbia. Data are based on a random sample of 830 persons[response rate = 71.5%], who were interviewed in their homes inthe language of their choice in 1995–96. Three dimensions ofquality of life – satisfaction, well-being and social support –are examined for married men and women [living with spouse alonevs. living intergenerationally] and widowed women [living alonevs. living intergenerationally]. Few differences are found formarried persons, especially women; for widows, living alonesignificantly reduces quality of life in a number of areas.Regression analyses indicate that living arrangements are not asignificant predictor of life satisfaction or well-being formarried men and women. For widows, living arrangements determinewell-being but not life satisfaction.Overall, age, health status, and social support (havingfriends/confidante) are better predictors of quality of life forelderly Chinese Canadians than are living arrangements. Findingshighlight the importance of: empirically distinguishing maritalstatus and living arrangements in studying the quality of life ofelders; not homogenizing Chinese Canadian seniors with regard toliving arrangements; and focussing on Chinese elderly widows wholive alone as a group at risk of low well-being.     

Marital Satisfaction,Family Emotional Expressiveness,Home Learning Environments,and Children's Emergent Literacy

The current study investigates associations among marital satisfaction, family emotional expressiveness, the home learning environment, and preschool‐aged children's emergent literacy skills among 385 Midwestern mothers and their children. Path analyses examined how marital satisfaction related to emotional expressiveness in the home and whether this path was associated with the home learning environment and children's literacy skills. Higher maternal satisfaction was associated with higher levels of positive and lower levels of negative family emotional expressiveness. Additionally, family emotional environments characterized by mothers with higher positive expression were related to better home learning environments, which in turn were associated with higher literacy skills in children. Study findings underscore the importance of marital and family processes when considering young children's academic development.     

Patterns of individual change and program satisfaction in a positive parenting program for parents at psychosocial risk

Despite the evidence of effectiveness of positive parenting programs, little is known about the typology of changes that parents at psychosocial risk undergo after an intervention. We compared individual patterns of change in three parenting outcomes in 256 at risk parents with young children attending the group‐based Growing Up Happily in the Family program delivered in municipal social services. We identified four clusters of individual change: Cluster 1 (30.6%) had negative changes in parental child‐rearing attitudes and parenting stress, Cluster 2 (27.7%) had positive changes in child‐rearing attitudes and negative results in parental perceived competence, and Cluster 3 (24.1%) and Cluster 4 (17.6%) showed overall better results. Residential area, type of social support, and quality of implementation characterized cluster membership. Participants in clusters with better results were more satisfied with the program than those with worse results. Practical recommendations are provided for the successful implementation of group parenting programs in family preservation services.     

城市居民公共服务满意度及其影响因素——源于河北省的调查

提升城市居民公共服务满意度,不仅是提高城市化质量的重要举措,也是保障民生和增强居民幸福感的重要途径。以河北省实地调研为例,在考察了新型城镇化背景下城市居民公共服务满意度情况,并实证分析了影响城市居民公共服务满意度的因素后,研究结果表明:城市居民对商业设施、公共交通以及城市信息化的满意度较高,但对就业和创业机会、市场秩序以及经济环境的满意度较低。同时,年龄、文化程度、经济条件以及家庭特征是影响城市居民公共服务满意度的重要因素。因此,政府要加大对三、四线城市公共服务投资力度,加快交通设施建设,鼓励绿色出行方式,稳定物价水平,扩大市场开放,规范市场秩序,营造良好环境。     

What does client satisfaction tell us about effectiveness?

It is common in child protection research to undertake studies of client satisfaction with services. Although these studies have their own intrinsic value, it has been argued that they tell us little if anything about effectiveness—high levels of client satisfaction mean little if child abuse continues to occur. This study, undertaken in a statutory child protection service in Australia, considers the relationship between client satisfaction and other outcome measures, including worker estimates of client progress, further notifications of abuse and whether or not children have been removed. The results show strong correlations between different measures of client satisfaction and strong correlations between different measures of worker estimates of client progress. They show weaker but statistically significant correlations between client satisfaction and worker estimates of client progress, and between client satisfaction and further notifications. There is also a significant relationship between client satisfaction and children remaining at home. However, this applies only to parents, relatives and carers, not to the primary clients themselves. It is concluded that client satisfaction studies may have value beyond simply measuring client satisfaction. However, the study also supports an argument for using more than one outcome measure if the aim is to measure effectiveness. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

烟草行业零售户满意度测评及其提升对策——基于安徽烟草商业企业的调查数据分析

运用比较成熟的顾客满意度测评理论,以安徽省烟草商业企业为例,分析烟草公司面临的形势、经营状况、特别是其销售网络的现状,阐述了安徽烟草公司进行卷烟零售户满意度测评的意义,提出测评实施方法,测评卷烟零售户对烟草公司的满意程度,以了解零售户对烟草公司满意状况和存在的不满意方面。在此基础上,提出了改善这些不足的对策建议,期望以此提高卷烟零售户对烟草公司的满意程度。     

秦简中的赎——睡虎地秦墓竹简研读札记

睡虎地秦墓竹简有多处关于"赎"的规定,虽不及张家山汉简系统、完整,但正因为它的具体和零散,却承载了大量的历史信息,对于理解秦汉以前的赎刑有关键意义。"刑疑赦从赎"是赎刑产生的基础,但作为法定刑的"赎"并不必然具有"代用"意义;其法律后果不具有身份内容,属于整个刑法体系中比较轻的一个序列。"赎"的执行方式比较灵活、开明,更表明"赎"作为法定刑是一种比较单纯的财产刑。"居赎"解决了赎刑适用对象的贫富差别问题,使其成为一种周密可行的、可以普遍适用的制度。     

The impact of attitude strength on customer-oriented priority setting by decision-makers: An empirical investigation

A key question in marketing decision-making pertains to what makes decision-makers focus on various types of information in different ways. Particularly in relation to a key marketing and management variable such as customer satisfaction this is an important issue. Costly derived customer satisfaction measures need to provide customer-oriented guidance regarding where to prioritise. Traditional research on intelligence use has mainly focused on objective research attributes, such as research quality. In this article, however, we will adopt the idea that decision-makers weigh information differently based on their perception of its relevance. With respect to crucial customer satisfaction information this represents an exciting, but nevertheless unexplored field of research. The results of latent variable modelling show that the strength of decision-makers’ attitudes toward customer satisfaction leads to a differentiated usage of satisfaction intelligence. By taking this into consideration, management and intelligence providers will be able to more effectively disseminate customer satisfaction information and facilitate a more customer-oriented perspective within firms.