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Copyright of Revista de Treball Social is the property of Col·legi Oficial de TreballSocial de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cuadernos de Trabajo Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cuadernos de Trabajo Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais is the property of Centro de Estudos Sociais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cuadernos de Trabajo Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Children, although innocent, are often admitted into the witness protection programme with their parents and, as a result, they experience isolation and social uprooting. This qualitative study aimed to describe the views of witnesses and staff members on how children are affected by the admission of their parents into the witness protection programme in South Africa. The ecological systems perspective, which recognises the impact of the environment on human functioning, and the person-in-environment perspective provided the theoretical framework. The findings confirmed the hardships of children in coping with the admission of their parents into the witness protection programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers: Revista de Sociologia is the property of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Acquiring a physical disability in adulthood necessitates a range of adjustments, with past research suggesting that some challenges encountered are unique to women. Moreover, several factors may complicate adjustment to an altered embodiment and difficulties in functioning after an accident, including insufficient rehabilitation and support services and problematic societal attitudes towards disability. In addition, women with disabilities are often excluded from health and social policy and programme development, an oversight that can result in support gaps. Objectives: This article presents the self-identified priority interventions of women with road accident-acquired physical disabilities in South Africa. Methods: We conducted interviews with 18 women with road accident-acquired physical disabilities. The participants were recruited via snowball sampling. Interviews were conducted by experienced interviewers, who were home language speakers of the participants' preferred language of communication. The interview recordings were transcribed, translated, and coded by trained, independent researchers. Results: Study participants identified three key areas of intervention requiring consideration in supportive intervention planning: the acute post-injury environment and healthcare infrastructure, transitional services and social inclusion interventions. These were identified as overlooked areas in which they required support to successfully adapt to limitations in functioning. Conclusion: To develop inclusive, accessible, and practical policy and programming for people with disabilities, exercises like those outlined in this research – eliciting intervention ideas from lived experience – should be conducted as they highlight actionable priorities for programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth gang involvement, also in rural areas, has been noted as a concern in South Africa. This article reports on a study framed in the Ecological Systems Theory, that explored the factors gravitating rural youths towards gangs to make recommendations for preventative and early intervention social work services. It was envisaged that, by addressing these causes within the different systems of youths' lives, they could be empowered and supported to make alternative life choices. A qualitative approach and explorative and contextual research designs were utilised. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to draw a sample from the population of youth in the rural community. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with eight participants. Ethics entailed the limitation of harm to participants and debriefing, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, privacy, and data management. The findings provided a description of causal factors in terms of the micro-, meso-, exo-, macro- and chronosystems that gravitate youth towards gangs. It was concluded that a variety of role players is needed to ensure sustainable prevention and early intervention services to rural youth and their families. Recommendations for preventative and early intervention services were made based on the findings and framed in the Ecological Systems Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-initiated funeral insurance plays a critical role in the well-being of many people in sub-Saharan-Africa; yet, mainstream social protection programs tend to focus on cash transfer interventions. I argue that funeral insurance and gender need to be at the core of the strategies to understand social protection. I explore findings from a qualitative study of beneficiaries' experiences of funeral insurance group in the Wa West District of Ghana. Narratives suggest that participation in funeral insurance groups improve the well-being of women. Efforts should be directed toward scaling up funeral insurance groups in developing countries due to the social significance of funerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Armed conflict and displacement disrupt the social, economic, and cultural networks necessary for individuals' and families' well-being. Interventions are necessary to repair this damage, as there are an estimated 40 million people displaced worldwide due to conflict and violence. This article describes the Dialogue Groups, a community-based intervention in post-conflict northern Uganda, focusing on social disruptions such as men's decreased involvement in the family, women's increased responsibilities at home and in the family, and increased violent behavior in homes. Reported outcomes include increased connection among community members and within homes, decreased genderbased violence, and increased livelihood opportunities. The intervention utilized an empowerment approach and demonstrated that community-driven and community-led interventions addressing social disruptions of conflict and displacement are viable and can meet the goals of a social development agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited information exists on the extent to which male perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) are engaged in the use of human services for co-occuringpsychosocial and health issues. The current analysis uses administrative data from one batterer intervention program (BIP) and data from the local Department of Human Services to explore perpetrators' engagement with human services, and the relationship of that use to timing and completion of the BIP. Data for 330 adult male clients referred to the participating BIP from 2010 to 2015 were collected. A majority (63%) had engaged in at least one human service program. The most common kind of service was mental health (46%). The most specific service engagement was child welfare as a parent (41%). Engagement largely concluded prior to beginning the BIP. BIP completers had less service use overall. Future work should explore how these services could be utilized to improve the success of BIPs and reduce perpetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace bullying is endemic to the nursing profession and it threatens nurses' health and ability to work safely. However, effective interventions to prevent workplace bullying are lacking. A sample of hospital nurses (n = 15) explored experiences of bullying and ideas for intervention via four focus groups in 2016. Four main themes emerged from the qualitative content analysis: (a) characteristics that define bullying behavior; (b) facilitators of bullying; (c) consequences of bullying; and (d) possible interventions. Although personal characteristics played a role, bullying was primarily facilitated by workplace and organizational factors that hindered the establishment of collegiality and team trust among nurses. Findings have informed a conceptual model for prevention of nurse-to-nurse bullying with ethical leadership and communication, trust, and social cohesion in work teams as key elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Batterer intervention programs' (BIPs) curriculum have been criticized for their one-size-fits-all approach to rehabilitation with recent research suggesting specialized and client-centric approaches to batterer intervention may be more effective than traditional programming. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been examined as a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and numerous studies suggest a relationship between ACEs and low mental health treatment engagement. However, absent from the conversation is how ACEs may influence BIP treatment engagement and more specifically how ACEs influence BIP program attendance and attrition. The current study used administrative data from a sample of 268 men enrolled in a county-operated BIP to explore this question. BIP participants who experienced any ACEs, only household dysfunction ACEs, and/or both household dysfunction ACEs and child abuse/neglect ACEs had decreased odds of BIP attrition compared to participants with no ACEs. These findings have practical implications regarding screening, service delivery, and BIP curricula and highlight additional research needed on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of EURE is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Ciência & Saúde Coletiva is the property of Associacao Brasileira de Pos-Graduacao em Saude Coletiva and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The high numbers of Aboriginal children placed in provincial and territorial care demonstrate the need for effective interventions that directly address the legacy of trauma from colonialization. This paper argues that healing is a critical component of any intervention seeking to help Aboriginal Peoples and their children. Research on healing and recent government initiatives and legislation directed at preserving traditional Aboriginal healing practices are discussed. This article concludes with recommendations for various community members involved in the healing of Aboriginal Peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • conducted interventions on 16 social networks in Sumatran villages and analysed the outcomes with ERGMs. • individuals' exposure to the external world is associated with opinion leadership in remote communities. • boundary-spanners are opinion leaders. Abstract Are boundary spanners opinion leaders in ethnically segregated remote low-income communities or are they shunned? Can external exposure create opinion leaders in such peripheral communities? To answer these questions, we invited randomly selected farmers from 16 randomly selected communities in Sumatra to three-day networking and training events outside of their villages. The substantive purpose of these events was for the farmers to learn new practices from their peers in the visited locations. Eighteen months later, we conducted a sociocentric survey of information-sharing networks in the 16 communities. These 16 networks included 380 members, of which 117 participated in our randomized intervention and 263 were in the control group. We found that participants of our randomized intervention had an average indegree that was double that of the control group (2.8 vs 1.4). We applied Exponential Random Graph Models to the 16 networks to account for endogenous network tendencies. We treated participation in the intervention and the number of boundary-spanning links of each actor as node covariates. Results from our models show that actors who participated in the intervention had higher levels of influence in their communities than the control group, and actors with more boundary spanning links were more popular sources of advice. The results suggest that network interventions do not always need to rely on opinion leaders. Under certain conditions, interventions can create opinion leaders by changing local social networks. We conclude with methodological implications for using interventions in social network research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African Americans are disproportionately impacted by homicide in the United States. Individuals who have lost a relative to homicide often experience symptoms of complicated grief. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of a culturally tailored psychoeducational pilot intervention whose development was informed by a conceptual model of coping for African American survivors of homicide victims and was designed to (a) educate participants about the manifestation of complicated grief and symptoms and (b) help participants develop ways to cope with their grief. Pre- and post-test results indicate preliminary support for this encouraging intervention in achieving its intended outcomes to help participants identify complicated grief symptoms, supports, and services to help them manage their grief. Implications for posthomicide research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on whether being from a LGBTQ+ community and disclosing one's sexuality can affect the working relationship with clients in a family drama therapy. According to the author, the core of his family-based therapy is to celebrate diversity and develop empathy towards any behavioural or psychological problem with a family member, as otherwise it could affect all other family members.

Importance: Substance abuse preventive interventions frequently target middle school students and demonstrate efficacy to prevent early onset and use of alcohol and illicit drugs. However, evidence of sustained results to prevent later patterns of alcohol misuse and more serious alcohol abuse disorders has been lacking, particularly for US Latino populations.Objective: To test whether a universal middle school prevention program can reduce the frequency of alcohol misuse and rates of alcohol use disorder 5 years after implementation with a Mexican American sample.Design, Setting, and Participants: A previous randomized clinical trial was conducted with 516 Mexican American 7th graders and at least 1 parent who identified as having Mexican origin. Three annual cohorts of families were recruited from rosters of 4 middle schools and randomized to the 9-session Bridges/Puentes family-focused group intervention or a workshop control condition. Recruitment, screening, pretest, and randomization occurred in the same academic year for each cohort: 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006. Data acquisition for the follow-up assessments of late-adolescent alcohol misuse and abuse, which were not included in the initial randomized clinical trial, was conducted from September 2009 to September 2014; analysis was conducted between August 2016 and July 2017. In this assessment, 420 children (81.4%) of the sample were included, when the majority were in their final year of high school.Interventions: The 9-session Bridges/Puentes intervention integrated youth, parent, and family intervention sessions that were delivered in the spring semester at each school, with separate groups for English-dominant vs Spanish-dominant families. The control workshop was offered during the same semester at each school, also in English and Spanish.Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcomes were diagnostic assessment of lifetime alcohol use disorder in the 12th grade, 5 years after the intervention, based on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children and past-year frequency of alcohol use, binge drinking, and drunkenness based on the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.Results: Of the 420 participants, 215 (51.2%) were girls (mean [SD] age, 17.9 [0.62] years). The intervention reduced the likelihood of having an alcohol use disorder (β = -.93; SE, 0.47; P = .047; odds ratio, 0.39). Intervention associations with past-year alcohol use frequency, binge drinking, and drunkenness were moderated by baseline substance use. The intervention reduced the frequency of alcohol use (β = -.51; SE, 0.24; P = .04; Cohen d = 0.43) and drunkenness (β = -.51; SE, 0.26; P = .049; Cohen d = 0.41) among youth who reported any previous substance use at baseline (T1 initiators) but not among those who had not initiated any substance use (T1 abstainers) at baseline. For past-year binge drinking, the intervention finding did not reach statistical significance among T1 initiators (β = -.40; SE, 0.23; P = .09) or T1 abstainers (β = .23; SE, 0.14; P = .11).Conclusions and Relevance: Study results support an association between a universal middle school intervention and alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorders among Mexican American high school students and implementation of universal middle school interventions to reach Latino communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to the use and importance of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) in dentistry. Topics discussed include strategies to decrease dental fear that are consistent with ABA principles, aetiology of dental fear, benefits of behavioural assessment, and possible intervention strategies useful for the dental team in helping patients to cope.

This article reviews the literature on the measurement of, impact of, and interventions for economic abuse within intimate partner relationships. Current assessment measures for economic abuse, along with estimates of the prevalence of economic abuse, are reviewed and critiqued. Research exploring the impact of economic abuse on the victim’s mental health and psychological well-being, family formations and parenting practices, and children’s behaviors and youth outcomes are presented. Recently developed interventions, including financial literacy program models, are discussed and emphasized as a critical service to increase victims’ economic self-efficacy, financial literacy, and financial behaviors. Finally, the review provides detailed recommendations on incorporating economic abuse as a central component of domestic violence research, practice, and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates adolescents' self-reported recycling behavior, adopting a much-needed person-oriented approach. We found that adolescents that have different personality types approach recycling differently. Those who have more expressed adaptive and positive personality traits show more favorable attitudes toward recycling and engage in recycling more than those who have less adaptive traits. Investigating models based on the theory of planned behavior, we found slight differences in linear relationships between the model's variables among clusters. The results indicate that interventions should be targeted at the people that need them the most rather than the general population. Suggestions for future research and some practical points are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are grave issues with how the U.K. government approaches the issue of wellbeing. Specifically, policy interventions that might improve the material conditions of citizens are being down-played, and at times out-rightly dismissed. Instead, an individualist, instrumental message is being promoted, namely, that the best way to improve wellbeing is by improving individual happiness and mental health. I argue that this instrumental message – which in practice blames the victims for their lack of happiness and removes state responsibility – can be made to sound feasible because of a reliance on positivist-based research, whether obtained objectively (by measuring material conditions) or subjectively (by measuring stated levels of happiness). In this paper, I therefore detail the failings of mainstream wellbeing research and its policy conclusions, and argue that critical realism offers solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of an intervention based on Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory. We hypothesized that the intervention would influence participants' job crafting behaviors, as well as their basic need satisfaction. Further, we hypothesized a positive impact on participants work engagement. In addition to the proposed intervention effects, we expected that job crafting would have a positive relationship with work engagement, through basic need satisfaction. The study used a quasi-experimental design with an experimental group and a control group. Teachers completed measures pre- and post-intervention. Results of analyses of variance were largely in line with our predictions. In the intervention group, job crafting, basic need satisfaction, and work engagement increased over time. In the control group, no significant changes were found on all variables. In addition, the results of the analysis confirmed the hypothesized mediation. We discuss the implications of these findings for both JD-R theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quitting smoking during young adulthood can substantially reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality later in life. Depressive symptomatology is prevalent among smokers and increases risk for poor smoking cessation outcomes. However, few integrated behavioral interventions simultaneously target smoking and depressive symptoms and rarely have young smokers been included in the development of these interventions. In this paper we describe an 8-session behavioral activation–based treatment for smoking (BATS; MacPherson et al., 2010) adapted for youth. We conducted a series of focus groups with young adult smokers with depressive symptoms in order to modify treatment manuals to be developmentally appropriate. Subsequently, we completed a small pilot group ( n = 5) of the intervention to provide preliminary data on feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes. We provide a case series of the participants in order to provide clinical illustrations of how the modified BATS treatment was implemented among young adults. Most pilot study participants exhibited smoking abstinence and smoking reductions at the end of treatment, as well as improvement in depressive symptoms and maintenance of levels of activation and environmental reward. Participants provided positive qualitative constructive feedback regarding the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Very little is known on outcome measures for children with spina bifida (SB) in Zambia. If rehabilitation professionals managing children with SB in Zambia and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa are to instigate measuring outcomes routinely, a tool has to be made available. The main objective of this study was to develop an appropriate and culturally sensitive instrument for evaluating the impact of the interventions on children with SB in Zambia. Methods: A mixed design method was used for the study. Domains were identified retrospectively and confirmation was done through a systematic review study. Items were generated through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Qualitative data were downloaded, translated into English, transcribed verbatim and presented. These were then placed into categories of the main domains of care deductively through the process of manifest content analysis. Descriptive statistics, alpha coefficient and index of content validity were calculated using SPSS. Results: Self-care, mobility and social function were identified as main domains, while participation and communication were sub-domains. A total of 100 statements were generated and 78 items were selected deductively. An alpha coefficient of 0.98 was computed and experts judged the items. Conclusions: The new functional measure with an acceptable level of content validity titled Zambia Spina Bifida Functional Measure (ZSBFM) was developed. It was designed to evaluate effectiveness of interventions given to children with SB from the age of 6 months to 5 years. Psychometric properties of reliability and construct validity were tested and are reported in another study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on intervention of children associated with less-privileged socio economic background for provision of an education. Topics discussed include adoption of an assessment approaches by early childhood educators for children; description of the Response to Intervention (RTI) approaches as early intervention for students; and incorporation of several processes related to early intervention such as self-assessment among students.

Copyright of Educação is the property of EDIPUCRS - Editora Universitaria da PUCRS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The nature and form of interventions received by survivors of mass violence in conflict situations both directly and indirectly impact on the survivors’ ability to support building sustainable peace and development. This article examines the role of sensitivity to the trauma experienced by the survivors in the interventions provided after mass violence. By examining the experiences and perceptions of South Sudanese refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northwestern Kenya, this article explores the complex interplay of violence, trauma, interventions, peacebuilding and development. Interventions that take into consideration the multifaceted ways in which the survivors experience and respond to traumatic events, encourage capacities for resilience in the survivors, engage the creative arts, and emphasise the centrality of community and relationships, may assist the survivors in recovery from trauma and facilitate sustainable peacebuilding and development, as well as avert the possibility of recurring violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have shown potential for learning and assessment for children, adolescents, and adults with autism. Much of the research in this area has taken a conceptual stance of veridicality; that is, that VR offers promise because it can provide authenticity and levels of realism alongside stimulus or environmental control, or both, which may first facilitate learning and the generalization of skills to the real world, and secondly can provide experimental contexts with strong ecological validity for assessment. This conceptual review raises questions about the assumption of veridicality of VR for autism research by examining research literature that has used VR to support learning and to investigate social responding. In so doing, it provides a framework for examining the assumed relationship between virtual and real contexts in order to highlight particular features of design and interaction, as well as background characteristics of participants, that may help or hinder learning and understanding in virtual environments. The conclusions suggest there is a need for the field to systematically examine the different factors that influence responding in VR in order to understand when, and under what circumstances, the responses of individuals with autism can be considered appropriately authentic. There are also opportunities for thinking more radically about research directions by focusing on the strengths and preferences of people with autism, and promoting more participatory and inclusive approaches to research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports on the core components of the Survivor to Thriver strengths-based group intervention programme for women who experienced childhood sexual abuse. It advocates a balanced approach and draws on an eclectic mix of theories, and has been field tested with two groups of women. An exposition of the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings, a description of the context, the role of the expert companion, outcomes and activities of the programme, evaluation methods and standard of care is provided. Finally, critical reflections on the intervention are discussed as well as limitations and the way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Global North, urban redevelopment through leisure and tourism interventions has been a keenly investigated research interface. These types of interventions, whether public, private, or in various combinations, have often led to the dramatic and extensive reworking of central city areas. Less attention has been focused on cities in the Global South - particularly Africa - that provide examples of how these processes of urban change manifest in this context. This investigation tracks the development of leisure and tourism-led interventions as central to the redevelopment of central Cape Town. It is shown how leisure and tourism development nodes developed, which in time consolidated into leisure and tourism urban redevelopment frontiers that have radically reworked Cape Town's central business district along with adjacent neighbourhoods. It is shown that urban redevelopment has come to spill over to ever larger parts of central Cape Town and (if not governed with care) risks rendering vast parts of the central city effectively exclusionary to most of the Cape Town population. On the whole, this investigation serves as a further instance to be heeded by other cities around the globe that aim to deploy leisure and tourism-led interventions as central or part of their central city redevelopment initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imagined contact is a widely-used methodology for decreasing prejudice. Recently, however, the effectiveness and replicability of imagined contact have been debated. To the extent that imagined contact is theoretically a valuable intervention when actual contact is absent or less feasible, previous intergroup contact experiences presumably moderate the efficacy of imagined contact. The present investigation found that imagined contact effects were stronger among heterosexuals with infrequent (vs. frequent) previous contact with gays, improving their intergroup emotions and attitudes (Study 1, N - 261). In contrast, there were no such effects of imagined contact with Muslims among non- Muslims (Study 2, N = 320). These findings highlight the potential for moderators to impact the efficacy of experimental contact simulations. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important, but under-researched, question in relation to policies funding networks of innovators is: what kind of innovation networks should be supported, if the policy objective is not just to sponsor successful innovation projects, but also to encourage the participants to form networks with desirable characteristics? Focusing on a set of policy programmes implemented by the regional government of Tuscany, in Italy, between 2002 and 2008, aimed at funding networks of collaborating organisations, we investigate whether the imposition of requirements on the composition of the networks that would be eligible for funding – in particular, the demand that networks should comply with minimum size and heterogeneity thresholds – influenced the participants' networking behaviour in the context of successive policy interventions. Our results show that these requirements immediately affected the size and composition of the project networks that applied for funding, although not always in the intended direction. However, these effects did not extend to the successive periods, when those requirements were no longer in force. This suggests that the imposition of policy requirements, per se, is unlikely to induce persistent changes in organizations' networking behaviour. Other approaches such as implementing outreach actions in order to encourage new organisations to participate in existing innovation networks and to form new ones, and additional measures designed to foster learning opportunities for the participants, might be more effective tools to influence the networking behaviour of participating organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the effectiveness and sustainability of teacher professional development interventions from a complexity viewpoint as well as a more 'standard' viewpoint. The first aim of this study is to give a theoretical overview of effective aspects of interventions regarding teachers' professionalizing using recent literature. The second aim is to re-interpret effectiveness and effectiveness studies using a complexity approach. The third aim is to empirically illustrate a complexity approach to the effectiveness of interventions using a multiple case study. We have described intervention specific aspects, teacher specific aspects, context specific aspects and implementation specific aspects and have shown in the cases that during an intervention these aspects intertwine and act as a complex dynamic system. The complexity approach to interventions has implications for future empirical research as well as for the design of interventions. In future research, results of small scale and large scale research should be combined, in order to obtain a better insight in all relevant aspects and their effect on teachers' behavior. Research ought to concentrate on the effects that all contextual aspects have intertwiningly in order to design more effective interventions and with better implementation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Trabajo Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the research on evaluating the experience and intercultural competence of study abroad students. The article also discusses the improvement of students’ intercultural competence with the help of interventionist programs, evaluation of intercultural competence, and offers suggestions to compare interventionist and other programs aiming intercultural competence.

A sizable portion of the current research on the socio-emotional development of children and adolescents focuses on negative outcomes of aversive circumstances. However, Lerner (2002) has highlighted the need to explore positive youth development. As such, this special issue aims to explore research on promoting positive socio-emotional development from underrepresented contexts. In doing so, we've invited articles on development in adverse circumstances using samples from Latin America, in addition to reports of intervention programs that have shown success and have the potential to be replicated in other settings. Creative programs to address these issues have been implemented at the local, regional and national levels, yet rarely are the results of these interventions disseminated to academic audiences in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a critical reflection of South Africa's approach to conflict management in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These are countries in which South Africa has been extensively involved and which now serve as models for conflict management across the continent. The article highlights that though these interventions are often viewed as success stories South Africa's approach falls short of its intended objective of promoting human security. The article contends that South Africa's narrow focus on the state and war elites leaves key conflict generating issues unresolved and reinforces militarised authoritarian state structures. It has therefore paid lip service to creating more inclusive conflict management processes. South Africa has largely failed to pioneer new ways of managing conflict that could lead to safer, resilient and prosperous societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the purposes of the Alcohol Sub-Study of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study was to identify the socio-economic effects of binge drinking from the perspective of community support networks and assess their intervention efforts to address the alcohol abuse problem in the selected areas of study. Emphasis was placed on implementation of plans and legislation; however, eradication of the problem seems to be insignificant for various reasons. This article reports on these identified challenges and proposes appropriate intervention strategies that take cognisance of the nature of the communities for which intervention efforts are intended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Bulletin of Medical History is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)