Identification of and Responses to Problem Drinking Amongst Social Services Users

Correspondence to Alan Lawson, Research Officer, Department of Social Services, London Borough of Hounslow, Civic Centre, Lampton Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW 3 4DN. Summary The NHS and Community Care Act (1990) has required local authoritiesto plan for social care aspects of services for alcohol misusers.Research was therefore commissioned by senior managers of theLondon Borough of Hounslow's Social Services Department to investigatethe effect of alcohol misuse amongst Social Services users onthe work of the Department. Research methods are summarizedand the main findings and their implications are discussed.The importance of relevant training was highlighted, in particularin relation to the identification and assessment of alcoholproblems and to child protection issues.     

A pilot study of the contribution of empathy to burnout in Salvation Army Officers

Although empathy has been found to distinguish effective counsellors from less effective counsellors, human services professionals who continually experience negative emotional reactions to the feelings that clients express in counselling may be at risk of developing burnout. This study examined the hypothesis that emotional empathy rather than cognitive empathy is associated with burnout. The sample of human services professionals consisted of 71 Salvation Army Officers. Multiple regression was used to investigate whether the dimensions of empathy could predict three aspects of burnout: personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The first regression analysis indicated that personal distress and empathic concern were significant predictor of personal accomplishment. The second analysis indicated that personal distress was a significant predictor of emotional exhaustion. The third indicated that empathic concern was a significant predictor of depersonalization. Although these results support the hypothesis, personal distress was negatively associated with personal accomplishment, whereas empathic concern was positively associated with personal accomplishment. The small size of the sample may have influenced the reliability of the findings. A multidimensional approach to the role of empathy in counselling may help human services professionals to manage their emotional reactions when they engage in counselling with distressed clients.     

Cross-validation of the screening scale in an adult protective services sample

Adult Protective Services (APS) professionals are often called on to assess decision-making capacity when investigating financial exploitation. Previous research found that in consecutive APS cases, a decision-making screening scale (LFDSS) also detected financial exploitation. The purpose of this study was to apply the clinical cutoff scores derived from the previous study to a new sample of APS cases. Using a sample of 105 participants, from APS workers across 5 counties this study investigated the clinical utility of the LFDSS to detect financial exploitation based on ratings by APS professionals using the scale. Results demonstrate that the LFDSS has excellent internal consistency and clinical utility properties. This paper provides support for use of the LFDSS as a reliable and valid instrument. Instructions for use of the LFDSS are included in the article, along with information about online support tools.     

LOAD CUBING AT R. J. REYNOLDS

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco USA (RJR) is currently implementing a microcomputer-based decision support system to computerize and optimize the selection of patterns for loading cases of finished product into truck trailers at RJR's Central Distribution Center. This system allows for the efficient loading of trucks with less supervision. Total annual savings from reduced personnel and shipping costs is approximately $850,000. In addition to these benefits, the system is a stepping stone for trailer loading automation and the integration of a comprehensive load planning system.     

Raccoon use of the urban matrix in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, Maryland

The raccoon is often considered a synanthropic species; however, most urban research on this species has been restricted to urban parks or green spaces. Little is known about the persistence of synanthropic characteristics in the raccoon within the urban matrix. We examined density, den selection, home range size, habitat selection, and survival for adult raccoons (Procyon lotor) during summer (June?CAugust) and autumn (September?CNovember) in two residential neighborhoods, Linthicum located inland, and Riviera Beach on a peninsula in the Potomac river, in Southern Maryland. Den site selection varied by gender (P?=?0.0002) and study site (P?=?0.052), and study site interacted with gender (P?=?0.0063), with female raccoons denning preferentially on the ground and male raccoons in human structures in Riviera Beach while in Linthicum females denned preferentially in trees and males avoided human structures. Seasonal home range size was larger for males (P?<?0.0001) than females at both sites. Habitat selection varied at different hierarchical levels, and between gender, season and site. Intersite differences in habitat selection were apparent at the second order and third order scale. Aquatic and urban habitat was ranked high and woodland consistently lowest in second order scale at Riviera Beach while urban habitat was consistently ranked lowest at Linthicum where woodland ranked highest. Between the hierarchal scales (2nd and 3rd order) a difference in habitat selection occurred at Linthicum only where urban habitats ranked lowest at 3rd order. The differences in patterns of habitat selection we observed between two urban sites at different hierarchical scales suggest that resource selection is dependent upon the specific characteristics of the site and that raccoons exhibit variable responses to changes in landscape features. Finally, male survival tended to be lower (P?=?0.079) than female survival in both study sites. Our results reveal that raccoons can continue to exhibit synanthropic characteristics within the urban matrix even in areas with little natural habitat. This ability to adjust to different levels of development allows the raccoon to occur throughout most parts of the urban landscape, which has important management implications for human-raccoon conflicts and disease management.     

Creating a manufacturing environment that is in harmony with the market—the ‘how’ of supply chain management

The inherent instabilityof complex supplychains is well understood and documented; the potential benefits of taking time out of the chain in terms of reduced inventory and lower operating costs are clearly substantial. There is now a broad community of managers and practitioners who know ‘what’ in principle needs to be done. The issue for all is ‘how’ to go about it for their particular business. This paper builds on an organizational trade-off model through which logistics moderates the conflicting demands and culture of manufacturing on the one hand and marketing on the other. The paper introduces three practical techniques for securing the benefits of supply chain management: time-based simulation; cost-to-serve; and piloting change. Used together these methodologies can deliver breakthrough in supply chain effectiveness.     

Helpers “Here on the Front Lines”: Welfare‐to‐Work Managers' Moral Identity Work

Using data drawn from telephone interviews with Ohio Works First program managers (N = 69), we examine managers' moral identity work. This work included using militarized rhetoric to evoke moral identities as honorable workers. It also involved signifying helper/helpful moral identities by defining what it means to be helpful, legitimating their helper identity through connections to caseworkers, and affirming their identity through telling success stories. Additionally, managers implicitly othered clients they viewed as needy and politicians they considered to be out‐of‐touch. Our research contributes to the literature on welfare‐to‐work, but also more broadly to our understanding of moral identity work and implicit othering.     

VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION AFFILIATION AND NATIONAL DIVERSITY*

Par nature, les associations volontaires sont des intermédiaires qui établissent les liens nécessaires entre les institutions de la société. Plus une société est hétérogene, plus elle requiert d'associations qui peuvent représenter les divers intérêts et, à la fois, empêcher ces divers intérêts de mener à une désorganisation individuelle et sociale. L'analyse de données de cinq nations révèle une correspondance entre la diversité nationale et l'affiliation à des associations volontaires. Cette correspondance est vue comme fournissant un support partiel à la thèse avancée. It is argued that voluntary associations are interstitial in character, providing needed linkages between society's institutions. More heterogeneous societies require greater numbers of associations to represent divergent interests and at the same time to prevent these varied interests from leading to personal and social disorganization. Analysis of data from five nations shows a correspondence between national diversity and voluntary organization affiliation. The correspondence is interpreted as partial support for the thesis advanced.     

Healing in familiar settings: support for children and youth in the classroom and community

The Classroom-Based Intervention emphasizes a specific theme each week to allow children to construct safe places to express their stories and develop coping strategies in a group environment.