Evaluations of the special supplemental program for Women,infants, and children's (WIC's) effectiveness

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) analyzed the evaluations of the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to determine whether they support assertions that have been made about the program's positive effects for five outcomes. Insufficient evidence was found for making any general or conclusive judgments about WIC's effectiveness overall, but in a limited way, the information does indicate the likelihood that WIC has positive effects in some areas. GAO also assessed problems in the state of evaluation efforts. That the program evaluations do not reveal whether WIC is having the effect intended by the legislation underscores the need to design and implement better studies. Generally speaking, GAO believes that if the lessons learned from past efforts are heeded, it should be possible to produce information on the overall effectiveness of WIC.     

人权保障在中华苏维埃共和国的历史实践——以防疫问题为中心的考察

自1931年11月成立以来,中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府就在宪法和其他法律法规方面给予了苏区人民在人权方面以相当的体现.在大规模疫病袭来之际,苏维埃政府除了采取各种措施对人民进行积极的治疗外,还不断完善自身的防疫机制,从实践中对人民的生命权给予了充分的保障.苏维埃政府在防疫问题上的努力,与同一时期国民党政府相比,呈现出两个截然不同的结果,这也体现出了两种不同的人权保障观.     

Malawi goes to scale with anti-AIDS clubs and popular media

This paper evaluates a project in Malawi that aimed to provide in-school and out-of-school youth with the necessary tools and skills to avoid high-risk sexual behavior, in order to reduce HIV transmission. Project components were school curriculum; extra-curricular activities; out-of-school youth clubs; enabling environmental support; youth reproductive health services; and research, monitoring and evaluation. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Youth Technical Committees established 3200 anti-AIDS Clubs throughout Malawi. These Clubs positively influenced members' behavior and helped to ‘break the silence’. An enabling environment was created through two popular radio programs, advertisements and provision of sports equipment. The out-of-school youth clubs needed clearer criteria and objectives. Many objectives were achieved, but the aim of establishing health services for youth was over-ambitious, and not achieved. This program is exemplary for the national scale that it achieved, and for its approach of using diverse partners to implement locally adapted components.     

A Modified Knox Test of Space-Time Clustering

Tests of space-time clustering such as the Knox test are used by epidemiologists in the preliminary analysis of datasets where an infectious aetiology is suspected. The Knox test statistic is the number of cases close in both space and time to another case. The test statistic proposed here is the excess number of such cases over that expected under H₀ of no infection. It is argued that this modified test is more powerful than the Knox test, because the test statistic is not heavily tied as is the Knox test statistic. The use of the test is illustrated with examples.     

Effectiveness of Financial Education on Financial Management Behavior and Account Usage: Evidence from a ‘Second Chance’ Program

The Get Checking™ program is a “second chance” program that aims to provide financial education to consumers who were reported to ChexSystems by a previous financial institution for account abuse or mismanagement. Using data collected from Indiana participants of the program, the first goal of this study is to investigate the success of the program in impacting financial management behavior of the participants. The second goal is to investigate the change of participants’ actual behavior in terms of account usage and asset-building after the completion of the program. The findings show that the program was successful in positively influencing the financial management behavior of Non-whites in terms of recording transactions and communicating with financial institutions. Also, financial management skills emphasized in the program, especially communicating with financial institutions, have a significant positive effect on the actual behavior of the participants in terms of obtaining a loan. Among the heterogeneous group of the unbanked, findings shed light on the demographic groups, such as Non-whites and young adults that could benefit the most from this type of financial management education.

Using activity theory to evaluate and improve K-12 school and university partnerships

This article reports on an evaluation methodology development study for K-12 school and university partnerships. The method is based on Engeström's (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit Oy activity systems analysis that allows researchers to examine qualitative datasets of complex human interactions. This study was designed for participants to evaluate partnership relations and activities. We investigated how the use of activity systems analysis in K-12 school and university partnership evaluation meetings affected participant communication processes. In this study, during a 1-day retreat K-12 school staff and university staff used a modified activity systems model to identify persisting institutional tensions in their program that often trigger miscommunications and strain their relations. During the discussion sessions, study participants collaboratively examined their partnership relations and identified strategies for overcoming difficulties. Additionally, in subsequent monthly partnership meetings during the school year, participants examined findings from the evaluation to design and implement improvement strategies. The results from this methodology development and implementation study provided researchers and partnership participants a new means to (a) evaluate partnership activities, (b) identify institutional barriers, (c) plan future activities, and (d) listen to and incorporate the ideas of less vocal staff members into the planning of future activities.     

Daily work pressure and exposure to bullying-related negative acts: The role of daily transformational and laissez-faire leadership

The present study integrates the work environment hypothesis and the effort-reward imbalance model to argue that work-related antecedents of workplace bullying are moderated by the day-to-day leadership practices of one’s immediate leader. Specifically, we propose that individuals’ daily experiences of work pressure are positively related to their daily experiences of bullying-related negative acts. Moreover, we claim that this relationship is weaker on days when those individuals report high (vs. low) levels of transformational leadership behaviour, and stronger on days when they report high (vs. low) levels of laissez-faire leadership behaviour. To test these three hypotheses, we asked 61 naval cadets on a tall ship sailing from Northern Europe to North America to fill out a diary questionnaire for 36 days yielding 1509 observations. The results of multilevel analyses supported our hypothesis of a positive relationship of cadets’ daily reports of work pressure with their daily reports of bullying-related negative acts. In addition, laissez-faire leadership behaviour (but not transformational leadership behaviour) moderated the work pressure–bullying-related negative acts relationship. Our findings support the assumption that laissez-faire leadership is an important component in the development of conflict escalation and workplace bullying, while transformational leadership is not. We discuss theoretical as well as practical implications of these findings.     

Theory-Based Community Practice for HIV Prevention in Midlife and Older Women

ABSTRACT

In the last decade there has been a significant increase in HIV transmission among midlife and older women, particularly those from racial/ethnic minority communities. Although the number of women aged 50 and older diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States is increasing, they are rarely included in community HIV prevention strategies. This article presents integrating social capital with social justice themes into a socioecological framework for community practice that can significantly impact the efficacy of HIV prevention programs for midlife and older women. It also reviews the research and program implications for including midlife and older women in community interventions to halt the spread of HIV infection in this at-risk group. Suggestions for HIV prevention community practice with this underserved population are presented.     

Stopping Child Bullying: Educators' Diverse Approaches for School Improvement

This original case-study research investigates educational professionals' answers to survey questions regarding how to eradicate child bullying. Twenty school professionals from two different schools—one school at the elementary level and the other school at the high school level—detailed their own particular bullying problems they see while serving in their own unique leadership capacity role and learning organization and what proactive initiatives they have modeled or participated in either individually or collectively to stop school bullying. Educational professionals were asked to detail any school-based policies already set in place or any procedural guidelines that will soon become implemented regarding stopping child bullying. Of the study results from participants, findings demonstrate that more critically intensive focus should be placed on school bullying by district wide anti-bully programs and being more frequently assessed. The survey is included at the end of this article (see Appendix).     

AIDS Prevention via Computer-Based Intervention

The dangers posed by AIDS and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are well known. Government, media, and medical organizations have provided extensive information on AIDS and on how to protect oneself against infection. Nevertheless, this fatal and irreversible disease continues to claim new victims. Clearly, there is an urgent need to develop new methods of educating the public about AIDS prevention. This paper reviews a new, interactive microcomputer approach to educating at-risk adolescents about AIDS. Emphasizing culturally sensitive and interactive approaches to prevention, the authors describe, illustrate, and assess interactive strategies and computer-based content for reducing the risks of AIDS and HIV among Black and Hispanic youth.