Characteristics of a central change programme within a governmental bureaucracy: a grounded theory study

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to present a theory of organisational change within the setting of a governmental bureaucracy. Design/methodology/approach Orthodox grounded theory is employed in the setting of a change programme in 12 Audit departments of the Dutch Ministries (public-sector). Findings The examined organisational change has specific characteristics. The Dutch ‘ministerial autonomy’ and the clearly recognizable role types of the key figures involved have a strong impact on the change programme and the realisation of its goals. Research limitations/implications Findings are derived on the basis of a substantive case study of the change programme of the Dutch Departmental Audit function. The research sheds new light on characteristics related to the occupational group of Chartered Accountants and characteristics of a governmental bureaucracy and it helps to understand change programmes within this bureaucracy. Practical implications The grounded theoretical model draws attention to the impact of key figures and circumstances on a change programme within the central government. Originality/value The paper builds on theories of organisational change but applies them in the typical context of the Dutch civil service where ministerial autonomy, on the one hand, and a move in the direction of more centrally organised activities (concern idea), on the other, require a difficult balancing act of all players in the change arena.     

Quality of Life and Personality Development: A Reply to Land and Michalos

Land and Michael’s (this issue) offer an excellent overview of the evolving status of the social indicators movement, with thoughtful recommendations for future research. I argue that QOL researchers may want to consider paying increased attention to advances in the science of personality development, such as those articulated in McAdams' (The art and science of personality development. Guilford Press, New York, 2015), in conceptualizing comprehensive assessments of the QOL. Specifically, McAdams' synthesis of the literature on personal agency should provide a useful beginning for developmentally-informed discussions of the potential evolving nature of QOL and its antecedents, correlates, and consequences, with the goal of ensuring greater relevance of QOL evaluations to all age groups.     

Containing Violence: A Case Study Illustration of Bion's Container-Contained Model as Applied to Mother–Infant Intervention

Secure Beginnings is a program of psychotherapy for pregnant women with potential problems in the formation of the parent–child relationship including, in the extreme, infant maltreatment. The core of the therapeutic process is to help the mother recognize and think through unbearable thoughts and feelings rather than project expectations of abandonment, hate, helplessness or ridicule into her infant. Case material, from 18 months of treatment, is used to illustrate the Secure Beginnings approach. The case is a mother with psychosis and addiction who lost nine previous children to foster care.     

An Introduction to the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale

QOL researchers have primarily focusedtheir attention on adults. The purpose of thispresentation is to describe the rationale,development, and psychometric properties of amultidimensional life satisfaction scaleappropriate for children and youth, theMultidimensional Students' Life SatisfactionScale (MSLSS: Huebner, 1994; Huebner et al.,1998). This multidimensional self-report scalewas designed for use with students from thirdthrough the twelfth grades. The currentversion of the MSLSS includes 40 items intendedto assess satisfaction with five specificdomains (School, Self, Family, Friends, andLiving Environment). The presentation willsummarize a series of recent studies assessingits reliability, factor structure, andconvergent and discriminant validity. Additionally, the potential usefulness ofchildren's life satisfaction scales forresearch and clinical applications werediscussed.     

Substance use and other factors associated with child welfare case duration: Looking beyond out of home care

Little is known about factors associated with child welfare case duration. Understanding factors associated with case duration may help stakeholders make more informed decisions about funding and service allocation and improve compliance with federal law. This study had two research questions: (1) What factors are associated with child welfare case duration? And (2) Do factors differ depending on whether children were placed exclusively with parents or with others (e.g. relatives and foster care) during the case? The study sample consisted of families (N = 874) with co-occurring child maltreatment and substance use in one midwestern state in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Linear regression models were used to identify correlates of case duration while controlling for child placement status. Overall, having a child under 1 year of age, benzodiazepine use, methamphetamine use and injection drug use were all associated with longer case duration, whereas marijuana use with no other substance use was associated with shorter case duration. Additionally, factors associated with case duration differed based on child placement status during the case. These findings suggest important heterogeneity in families involved with child welfare services and may allow for proactive mitigation of cases at greater risk.     

Research on Assessment of Life Satisfaction of Children and Adolescents

Over the years, various psychologists haveissued calls for greater attention to a scienceof positive psychology, which focuses onstudying conditions that promote optimal humanand societal development. Recent calls (e.g.,McCullough and Snyder, 2000; Seligman andCsikszentmihalyi, 2000) have furthered interestin studies of the nature and determinants ofthe good life. Such a science, along with thecreation of prevention and interventionprograms informed by the expanded scientificframework, is expected to improve the qualityof life for all individuals, not justindividuals who are at risk or who alreadydemonstrate psychopathological conditions. Tocontrast with the previous emphasis onpsychopathology, the development of a positivepsychology requires constructs and measuresthat reflect the full range of humanfunctioning, incorporating indicators of highlevels of wellness as well aspsychopathological functioning. This articlediscusses one such construct, lifesatisfaction, that has been studied extensivelyin adulthood (see Diener et al., 1999), butwhich has only recently gained attention withchildren and adolescents (see Bender, 1997;Huebner, 1997). This article reviews lifesatisfaction assessment research with childrenand adolescents, specifically with regard toconstruct validity. In doing so, the followingareas are addressed: models of lifesatisfaction; convergent validity; discriminantvalidity; relationships with other well-beingmeasures; relationships with external,environmental circumstances; relationships withdemographic variables; cultural factors; groupdifferences on life satisfaction measures;predictive relationships; and stability of lifesatisfaction reports. Conclusions regardingthe validity of the life satisfaction constructare formulated. Recommendations for futureresearch are also discussed.     

Asymptotic Analysis of the Sieve Estimator for a Class of Parabolic SPDEs

In this paper we consider the problem of estimating a coefficient of a strongly elliptic partial differential operator in stochastic parabolic equations. The coefficient is a bounded function of time. We compute the maximum likelihood estimate of the function on an approximating space (sieve) using a finite number of the spatial Fourier coefficients of the solution and establish conditions that guarantee consistency and asymptotic normality of the resulting estimate as the number of the coefficients increases. The equation is assumed diagonalizable in the sense that all the operators have a common system of eigenfunctions.     

The Longitudinal Relationships Between Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction at School and School-Related Subjective Well-Being in Adolescents

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study aimed at examining the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between basic psychological needs satisfaction at school and adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being. A total of 576 students (40.5 male and 36.8 % students in junior high school) completed measures of adolescent students’ basic psychological needs at school and school-related subjective well-being at two time points, 6 weeks apart. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling showed significant bidirectional longitudinal relationships between autonomy, relatedness, and competence needs satisfaction and school satisfaction. Furthermore, significant bidirectional relationships were observed between competence need satisfaction and positive affect in school. The findings provided important evidence of the roles of adolescents’ different types of needs satisfaction, experienced specifically during school, in adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being. The findings also helped extend the positive psychology perspective to the relatively neglected context of education.     

Rolling with the shakes: an insight into teenagers’ perceptions of recovery after the Canterbury earthquakes

Natural disasters are harmful worldwide events that inflict multiple psychosocial impacts on disaster-exposed individuals. A significant proportion of affected individuals are teenagers (13–18 years old) who, compared with adults, have been historically overlooked in disaster research. The literature is particularly sparse concerning teenagers’ recovery from natural disasters, specifically what recovery means to them and the contributing factors towards their positive recovery. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to gain deeper insight into this largely unexplored area by conducting five focus groups with teenagers (16–18 years) who experienced at least one of the Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes since and including the initial September 2010 earthquake. This study directly asked teenagers about their recovery over the three years after the initial earthquakes, with data being analysed using thematic analysis. Two main themes were identified: (1) perceptions of recovery, with three sub-themes (i) knowledge and being less frightened, (ii) talking about the earthquakes and (iii) shift in perspectives; and (2) contributing factors to recovery, with three sub-themes (i) participation in the community response, (ii) returning to school and (iii) the rebuild of Christchurch. These factors provide insight into how we can better support the recovery process for disaster-exposed teenagers to reduce long-term distress.