Collaboration in EU Framework Programmes – the case of the social sciences and humanities

The impact of the European Framework Programme (hereafter FP) projects is usually measured with reference to the possibilities offered for collaboration. In this research note we take a different perspective and explore the extent to which FPs have influenced the traditional performance of researchers and vice versa. The population reference for our study consists of the projects funded within the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) between 2002 and 2006. Here, we have concentrated our analysis on the priority area of “citizens and governance in a knowledge-based society” (CIT).     

User involvement during information systems development: a comparison of analyst and user perceptions of system acceptance

A sample of 150 users and analysts from multiple organizations and many system projects provided field questionnaire data to test hypotheses about the differences in their perceptions of user involvement (UI) and system acceptance. The Franz and Robey [Franz, C.R., Robey, D., 1986. Organizational context, user involvement, and the usefulness of information systems. Decision Sciences, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 329–356.] instrument was used for data collection and factor analyzed, resulting in more focused and specific measures. Analysis of the data showed that users and analysts did not agree on the user's involvement nor did they agree on their perceptions of the acceptability of the system to the user. Relationships of self-ratings of UI with system usage and system acceptance by the user demonstrated high correlations, which were attributed to the narrow focus of the UI and system acceptance measures rather than the original more global measure. Analyst perceptions of UI showed no correlation with a user's perceptions of system acceptance.     

Coordinated Service Delivery and Children's Well-Being

ABSTRACT

Interagency collaborations are uniquely suited to meeting the increased needs of communities in today's environment of reduced federal funding and devolution of services to the state and local levels (Gore, 1993). In Texas, interagency collaborations take place through Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCGs), which were created by the Texas Legislature to coordinate local service delivery for children and their families who often “fall through the cracks” due to having multiple needs. This article presents an evaluation of CRCG operations, with a focus on identified best practices, related obstacles, and suggestions for improvement. The researchers visited CRCG sites, and conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews, as well as a mail survey, with CRCG staff. Overall, CRCGs appear to effectively enhance the delivery of coordinated services in an effort to meet the multiple needs of the children and families that they serve. Recommendations for policy and practice are discussed, such as spearheading community action structures (Poole, 1997) that may help CRCGs more effectively meet the needs of their respective local communities.     

Removing Barriers to the Use of Community Information Systems

Abstract

Community information systems (CINS) are emerging as important tools for community, government, and educational organizations. This paper considers the training, evaluation, and outreach efforts relating to the Philadelphia Neighborhood Information System (NIS), a collection of online applications that integrate and distribute housing and demographic data. It presents an overview of the types of NIS users and uses and some specific examples ofhow the NISisbeing used for individual property inquiries, community surveys, needs assessments, and research. Finally, the paper discusses the barriers to more analytical uses and offers recommendations for social work education aimed at preparing social workers to support community organizations in their efforts to harness the potential of CINS for social change.     

Generalized Gauss–Hermite filtering

We consider a generalization of the Gauss–Hermite filter (GHF), where the filter density is represented by a Hermite expansion with leading Gaussian term (GGHF). Thus, the usual GHF is included as a special case. The moment equations for the time update are solved stepwise by Gauss–Hermite integration, and the measurement update is computed by the Bayes formula, again using numerical integration. The performance of the filter is compared numerically with the GHF, the UKF (unscented Kalman filter) and the EKF (extended Kalman filter) and leads to a lower mean squared filter error.     

Chinese male victims in intimate partner violence in the United States: examining help-seeking behaviours through a systems perspective

Few researchers who studied intimate partner violence (IPV) have focused on the relationship between the needs of male victims and their help-seeking behaviours. In addition, there is a lack of research relating to the needs of Chinese male victims of IPV. To facilitate research in this area, the authors utilized a dynamic systems perspective to build a conceptual framework to examine the help-seeking behaviours of Chinese-American males who are victims in violent relationships. This conceptual framework uses a social focus and analyses connections among major system components, such as culture, society, family, and the male victim as an individual. The authors identified four key analytical categories (cultural changes, societal expectations, influences of the family, and reactions to victimization) that practitioners and researchers can use to gain insight into the help-seeking behaviours of Chinese-American men. We anticipate that the conceptual framework can be used in future research to expand knowledge of male victimization and design effective intervention strategies.     

服务自组织途径的信息系统生存性增强

在组件冗余备份的前提条件下,提出一种基于连接迁移技术的服务自组织方法。该方法根据服务处理流程将系统组件分解为通信组件、服务分发组件、数据存储组件;备份组件将其生存性信息实时发送给工作组件,并获取最新服务状态列表,当某一组件生存性最高时,根据组件的功能及其在体系结构中的位置,通过多种连接迁移技术进行服务自组织。利用仿真实验验证了生存性计算的有效性;并通过在网络环境中搭建一个Web服务器证明:在攻击情况下该方法可以有效提高稳态和瞬时的服务可生存性。     

TREATING CLIENTS FAIRLY

The equitable distribution of maintenance, or care, services derives principally from the decision-making activities of the line workers in a service program. When program rules and guidelines are relatively general and awards are specific, workers develop functions which relate client need to program benefit. However, among counties and offices within a county, these functions may differ, resulting in inequitable service awards to clients. An empirical study of the In-home Supportive Services program in California reveals office distributive functions and determines the consistency with which workers follow them. Through factor analysis and linear regression, the distributive rules are made explicit so that workers can determine how they may be unintentionally treating clients unfairly.     

The Impact of Prison Hospice

Abstract

This study reports on a qualitative national telephone survey with coordinators of 14 prison hospice programs in 11 states. The rationale behind the survey was to learn about interdisciplinary collaboration between social work and criminal justice, using prison hospice as an exemplar of this collaboration. In addition to learning that all prison hospices in the study operate using an interdisciplinary team model and that most report high quality collaboration on the hospice team, the following additional five themes emerged: administrators and wardens are very supportive while correctional staff provides mixed support to team and program; greater collaboration with those outside prison hospice is critical; collaboration through prison hospice has a positive impact on dying prisoners; collaboration through prison hospice has a positive impact on prisoner volunteers; and, collaboration through prison hospice has a positive impact on the entire culture of the prison.     

The Dynamics of Self-Organization

ABSTRACT

The following reviews the promises and limitations for social work of self-organization theory, an integral part of the emerging field of complex systems. Self-organization refers to the capacity of many systems to spontaneously develop novel forms of organization with little external interference. The primary focus of the review involves what the author contends are several neglected dimensions of higher level self-organizing systems, specifically: (1) the role of consciousness and intentionality; (2) the capacity for self-selection as a means of seeding self-organizing processes; and (3) the possibility that some forms of self-organization are based on nonlocal processes involving the synchronistic correlation between separated parts of systems.