Systematic dissemination of a preschool physical activity intervention to the control preschools

For public health interventions to have a meaningful impact on public health, they must be disseminated to the wider population. Systematic planning and evaluation of dissemination efforts can aid translation from experimental trials to larger dissemination programs. The Study of Health and Activity in Preschool Environments (SHAPES) was a group-randomized intervention trial conducted in 16 preschools that successfully increased the physical activity of preschool age children. Following the completion of the research study protocol, the intervention was abbreviated, modified and implemented in four preschools that participated as control preschools in the original research study. The purposes of the current study were to describe the process of refining the intervention for dissemination to the control preschools, and to assess the acceptability of the resulting abbreviated intervention delivery. Five overarching behavioral objectives, informed by process evaluation, data from the original trial and collaboration with intervention teachers, were used to guide the implementation. Teachers in the dissemination classrooms reported high levels of acceptability, potential for sustainability of the program, and positive results in knowledge, skills, and child outcomes. Researchers can include a systematic approach to dissemination of effective intervention elements to the control participants in experimental studies to inform future dissemination efforts and begin to bridge the dissemination gap.     

The impact of a participatory organizational intervention on job stress in community health care institutions

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a short-term participatory intervention in health care institutions in Norway on workers' control, other job characteristics, job stress, subjective health and job satisfaction. Participants (including managers and supervisors) were randomly allocated to intervention groups and to a control group. Actions to solve problems based on the employees' own perceptions of the main problems were seen as the key motivators for organizational improvement and increased control at the task and office level in the work situation. The main stressors identified by the participants in this study were lack of information, communication and respect between professions, as well as the need for professional and personal development. The participatory intervention had a positive, but limited effect on work-related stress, job characteristics, learning climate and management style, and seemed to have started a beneficial change process. There were no negative short-term effects on work-related stress and job demands. Organizational interventions may be a potential training ground for acquiring participatory skills and resources, and if sustained after the intervention period, they can have long-term effects on problem solving, job stress and employee satisfaction.     

Modes of state intervention and business group performance in China's transitional economy

This paper examines the contingent nature of state intervention affecting business group performance in the context of a transition economy by identifying different modes of state intervention in China's transitional economy. Using data on China's 76 business groups collected in 2006, I find that, at the group level, modes of state intervention have different economic effects on business group performance, depending on the specific modes of intervention and the context of the institutional environment in China's transitional economy. Through direct intervention – such as ownership, officials, and Chinese Communist Party members at the group level – the Chinese state failed to provide positive economic effects. However, the result demonstrates the state's ability to provide positive economic effects by matching the functional demands of the emerging market, such as loans from state-controlled banks as financial support.     

Measuring Potency Among Preschool Children: Instruments and Intervention

This study explored the impact of Potency-Focused Intervention among preschool children using a prospective research design. To achieve this aim, an instrument (the Child Adaptation Measure of Potency, or CAMP) was developed to examine the construct of potency among this population. The psychometric properties of this new CAMP scale was analyzed among 90 preschool children and the scale was proven to be both reliable and valid. Sixty-six children participated in the intervention study itself: thirty-two children participated in an intensive intervention program while the remaining children served as a control group. The results indicate that Potency-Focused intervention significantly enhanced potency among children in the intervention group, though it did not enhance the quality of self-concept. This finding suggests that while potency and self-concept are similar in some respects, they are separate constructs. The implications of Potency-Focused intervention among preschool children are discussed.     

Street Youth: Coping and Interventions

A literature review of research into interventions among street youth is presented along with the results of a qualitative analysis of interviews with 80 street youth on the topic of coping. Themes arising from the qualitative analysis include street youths' negative and positive experiences with social support; and attitudes and beliefs such as self-worth, decreased reactivity to other's opinions, hope for the future, pride in self-reliance, anger/non-conformity, and spirituality. Recommendations of this study include the need for outcome research and programme evaluation, inclusion of sociocultural factors as variables, and accessing the experiences of street youth.     

心理社会治疗模式在老年个案中的运用及反思

本个案通过运用心理社会治疗模式和技巧,帮助案主面对现实,消除情绪困扰,适应养老机构环境,康复身体等,并达到了预期的效果。兹为对我国老年社会工作的发展提供参考。     

自由与介入——萨特文论一瞥

批判性地考察了萨特区分诗与散文的语言学美学框架。从存在论、实践论和作品存在方式上分析了萨特文学介入论的意涵。考辨了萨特对具体历史境况中的文学与自由的关系的论述。     

补救预防并举 促进家庭和谐——构建和谐社会过程中社会工作的应尽职责

家庭和谐是社会和谐的基础。当前我国婚姻家庭发展过程中存在诸多不和谐因素,给家庭和社会带来了消极影响。婚姻家庭问题的解决,需要专业社会工作的积极介入。社会工作的介入主要可分为两个大的方面:补救型的介入和预防型的介入。在预防和消除婚姻家庭问题、构建和谐家庭乃至和谐社会的过程中,专业社会工作可以发挥重要作用。     

Using a stress audit: The construction site manager experience in the UK

The aim of this study was to conduct a stress audit among construction industry site managers in the UK as a precursor to a stress management intervention programme. Qualitative data were obtained from in-dept interviews with a total of 36 male middle and senior construction site managers; and aquantitative data were obtained by questionnaire. Based on the analysis of 561 postal quenstionnaires, eight stressor factors were identified, most significantly, ambiguity (i.e. role and task). Job satisfaction levels were low compared to a normative population and influenced by grade level. Measures of mental health were similar to the norm for males, but both grade of management and type of contract affected mental health. Anxiety levels were signficantly high, independent of managerial grade. The stress of work overload and role insecurity (fear of failure) were associated with reduced mental health and high anxiety, and the stress of the organizational culture and climate was the strongest predictor of job dissatisfaction. There was some cause for concern for the vulnerable high-risk groups, i.e. the extreme type A and those working overtime. Medical data from a small subset of managers (n = 78) revealed that this group evidenced a better quality of psychological health than the group in total; but a high percentage of personnel had high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Recommendations for action focused on the needs of specific subgroups, and guided the organization on the acceptability of possible interventions at individual, interpersonal and organizational levels.     

Process and evaluation of a group intervention for mothers with parenting difficulties

Twenty-one mothers with severe parenting difficulties, including 12 children on the Child Protection Register, were involved in an intensive parenting intervention. The 4-month group-based package included psychotherapy to allow mothers to come to terms with past and present stressors, and direct and video work with mothers and children using a multi-dimensional model of parenting. Considerable positive change in interaction and child centredness was evident when before and after videotapes of the mothers and children were compared. Negative interaction dropped to one-quarter of the pre-group level and mothers were more effective in exercising appropriate control. Of the 12 children on the Child Protection Register, 10 subsequently had their names removed, with both remaining children returning to the mother's care from compulsory care. This compares favourably with area figures, suggesting that about one-third of children are removed annually from the register. The multi-dimensional model of parenting not only provided a basis for measuring mother's skills but a coherent focus for intervention.