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An introduction to the journal is presented in which the author discusses the initial findings from local site evaluations of Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI), presents an evaluation of evidence-based practices tailored to homeless subpopulations with co-occurring disorders and discusses an article on implementing Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) with adults who are homeless and have co-occurring mental and addictive disorders.

Fidelity rating of evidence-based practices ensures the implementation of interventions as intended and enhances the likelihood of replication of positive outcomes previously demonstrated. However, modifications have been necessary when a practice is adopted in settings or for populations other than those for which they were developed. This study reports fidelity findings for six programs implementing the Assertive Community Treatment model in different settings for adults who are homeless and who present with mental and addictive disorders, together with a methodology that can assist programs to achieve fidelity. Initial and final fidelity ratings using the Dartmouth Assertive Community Treatment Scale were collected from six programs. Findings indicate that while fidelity in programs can vary over time, core elements can be maintained, resulting in at least moderate fidelity in each program and modest overall increases across all programs combined with concomitant decreases in the variance of fidelity scales. The findings support previous research that fidelity change is minimal after initial fidelity is achieved during the first year of implementation, and they extend previous results to programs serving persons who are homeless and have co-occurring mental and addictive disorders. This study suggests that fidelity to evidence-based practice can be maintained for adaptation to new populations and settings. Understanding areas that are likely to be challenging to fidelity achievement and managing the variability of performance on the components of each fidelity aspect can assist the program manager and personnel to achieve and maintain adequate model fidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Assertive Community Treatment model (ACT) was developed more than 30 years ago to treat individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. This qualitative study highlights practical challenges encountered when establishing ACT teams in diverse settings serving people who are homeless with co-occurring mental and addictive disorders (COD). Program administrators and evaluators from nine programs located in seven states completed a survey on implementation challenges, fidelity, modifications to the ACT model, and program successes. Challenges encountered related largely to staffing and funding limitations as well as to difficulties with implementing the ACT model without modifications. Several modifications to the model were believed beneficial to recruiting and retaining consumers. These included emphasizing housing, adding staff positions not prescribed by ACT, implementing mini-teams within the program, delivering in-office services in a group format, and placing time-limited services by transitioning consumers to less intensive settings. Successes included reduction in hospitalizations, psychiatric symptoms, and substance abuse. Stabilization of consumers was attributed largely to housing assistance and maintenance; medication adherence; and delivery of intensive, multidisciplinary services including substance abuse treatment. Implications of this study suggest the need to adapt the ACT model for people who are homeless with COD by tailoring program staffing and service delivery. Furthermore, there is a need for a measure capable of assessing ACT fidelity in the context of both housing models and integrated treatment for the homeless population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides a coding framework to audit empirically a museum's image in the media. The final aim is to help museums consider the media as active participants and co-constructors of their image and, therefore, as key actors building credibility, institutional power, prestige, familiarity and trust toward the organization. The application of the audit, in a museum which was in the media's spotlight for scandals, shows that the proposed methodology provides two main insights. First, it provides a picture of how media portray the museum in its functional and emotional/representational image, with the advantage of knowing how it is covered in its uniqueness and inimitability. Secondly, it gives details on which features of the museum's image receive positive, negative or no coverage at all, with the benefit of recognizing which critical issues and opportunities should be managed to improve the museum's image in the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a debate related to the question "Does journalism education matter? Jannette L. Dates argues that a prepare journalism curricula must be done to promote and upgrade the standards of journalism, the enterprise essential to democracy. Theodore L. Glasser argues in his essay on why journalism matters, that journalism studies will only make a difference if they makes journalism better and help them understand what journalism means. Mitchell Stephens introduces 13 principles that he contends that is needed for practical journalism education. G. Stuart Adam argues for an increased connection between the applied field of journalism and the intellectual culture of the university.

The author analyzes the influences of black women as decision makers and creators in entertainment television and focuses on the effects black women have had on the system during the period 1999-2004. She also assesses whether a black presence has made a difference in the process and the products produced for television viewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles on the role and portrayal of African Americans in U.S. television programs and motion pictures.

Information Studies and Library Studies departments do not usually offer specialized reference courses for aspiring music librarians. Most music departments in academic universities offer some type of music bibliography course, which often combines music bibliography with an introduction to music research. Some music library students, however, do not have access to such music bibliography courses. While a number of articles outline the problems with music librarianship education, few offer any solutions, suggestions, or additional resources. This article outlines the inadequacies in the training provided by many MLS programs to students of music librarianships, suggesting practical solutions, and includes recommended resources for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a study conducted in the illinois ILCSO consortium about the impact of consortial guidelines for cataloging remote access computer files on the quantity, quality and nature of bibliographic records for Internet resources found in the consortium online catalog, ILLINET Online (JO). A pre-test sample was gathered in March 2000, while a post-test sample was harvested in April 2001 approximately a year following introduction of the guidelines. The study shows that while the presence of consortial guidelines for cataloging Internet resources may have impacted the quantity of bibliographic records for Internet resources in 10, the guidelines had only a small effect on the quality and nature of Internet computer file records found in 10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The Adience-Abience and the Psychopathology Scales of the HABGT were applied under pretreatment and posttreatment conditions to 120 13-15-year-old male delinquents. Comparison with other personality variabes, prediction of recidivism, and analysis of mean scores on the two scales with the means of normal and disturbed children of comparable age were attempted. The delinquent group was more abient than normal children and was significantly higher in psychopthology than either normals or disturbed children. Significant correlations were obtained between Adience-Abience and Psychopathology and recidivism, although neither scale alone, nor both scales in combination, was high enough in prediction to warrant their use for individual predictive purposes. However, their utility in such programs as well as their construct validity were demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliabilities and interrelationships of the Adience-Abience and the Psychopathology Scales of the HABGT were investigated in a population of 120 13-15 year-old mate delinquents over a 40-week period. The delinquent boys were assigned to three conditions: individual tutoring and counseling; group tutoring and counseling; controls (no treatment). Both scales were found to have high test-retest reliability over all conditions (rs ranged from .85 to .93). Interscorer reliability among three scorers was also found to be very high. As expected, treatment had a differential effect on psychopathology and on adience-abience: the former was modifiable while the latter was resistant to change. Also as predicted, the two scales had a significantly higher degree of commonality before treatment intervention than after such intervention, but the relationship remained stable for the control group. Implications for clinical and research use are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need of inclusive curriculum, a representative of the multicultural composition of American society. It discusses a strategy to promote a inclusive communication curriculum. The strategy involves development of curriculum involving the inclusion of African American perspectives. The two faculty members from two institutions included Jannette Dates, an associate professor of communication and acting dean of the School of Communication at Howard University and Jim Schnell, an associate professor of communication at the Ohio Dominican College.