Strengthening Academic Programs with Proactive Fiscal Management and Other Innovative Strategies

Price pressures in the form of escalating tuition will continue to impinge upon colleges and universities in an unabated fashion. While distance learning experiments and electronic assisted teaching may provide some relief in training-centric sectors of higher education, the university enterprise remains a labor intensive endeavor. Technology and healthcare expenses will continue to grow at most institutions at a rate far above the cost-of-living index. Public institutions are finding strong resistance to additional support based on tax revenue. Private institutions are increasingly being questioned about the “valueadded” they provide and whether it justifies their premium tuition

CONSIDERATIONS ON A THEORY OF DESCRIPTIVE ACTIVITY

From a working definition of description, the meaning of idealized representation is presented. I t is suggested that, as a universal means of depiction, idealized representation stands in a contradictory relationship with the concrete conditions of its production, generating descriptive irresponsibility. Features of descriptive activity are presented, which serve as a basis for redefining the moral character of idealized representation

Issues in Evaluative Research: Implications for Social Work

Various issues in evaluative research are reviewed according to their relevance for the evaluation of social work practice. Specific items discussed are: plausible studies, what should be changed and why, the change agent, criteria for positive assessment, traditional research designs, time-series designs, organizational aspects of research, researchers vs clinicians, researcher\u27s distance from populations served, incentives for research, and the dissemination of information and application of relevant knowledge. Where relevant, aspects of certain evaluative studies are discussed to illustrate the items reviewed

Mother/photographers

Thesis (M.S.V.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1981.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 86).The thesis work consists of : 1) A visual statement of 30-40 black and white photographs produced in 1980-1981 and presented in an exhibit at the Creative Photography Gallery , April 3-29, 1981. The statement consists of portraits of my family members and self-portraits. 2) A portfolio of ten black and white prints from the exhibit to be left in the Creative Photography Laboratory Archives. 3) A written documentation of my investigation and study of the particular genre of Mother/Photographers who have used their families as subject matter. 4) A slide/lecture on the subject of Mother/Photographers presented in conjunction with a panel discussion on Nurturance and Ambition, April 22, 1981 at the Creative Photography Laboratory.by Judith Buckholdt Black.M.S.V.S

Adolescent Reactions to Maternal Responsiveness and Internalizing Symptomatology: A Daily Diary Investigation

A daily diary methodology was employed to gather teens’ perceptions of maternal responsiveness to daily stressful events and teens’ reactions to maternal responsiveness in a diverse sample (792 entries from 104 teens; 81% African American, mean age 13.7 years). Additionally, parents and teens completed baseline reports of internalizing symptoms. Diary findings were congruent with prior studies employing self-report measures of global maternal responses to emotion (e.g., higher probability of Accepting reactions to supportive responses, higher probabilities of Attack, Avoid-Withdraw reactions to non-supportive responses). Elevated baseline internalizing symptoms were related to perception of elevated Punish and Magnify responses during the week, and more Avoidant (Avoid-Withdraw and Avoid-Protect) reactions to responsiveness. Results are discussed in the context of reciprocal emotion socialization processes

Emotional Dysregulation as a target in the treatment of co-existing substance use and borderline personality disorders: A pilot study

Background: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) are frequently co-morbid and their co-occurrence exacerbates the symptomatology and associated harms for both disorders. However, few intervention studies have examined the delivery of an integrated intervention for BPD and SUD within alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment settings. This single arm pilot study examined the clinical utility and outcomes of a 12-session emotion regulation intervention for clients with co-occurring SUD and BPD symptoms delivered in an outpatient AOD treatment setting. Method: Forty-five adult treatment-seekers (64.4% women, mean age 35.8 years [SD=10.4]) attending an outpatient AOD service, who exhibited three or more symptoms of BPD, engaged in a 12-session emotion regulation intervention. Clinical measures assessing alcohol and drug use, BPD symptoms, emotion dysregulation and acceptance, non-avoidance of thoughts and emotions, and psychological flexibility were collected at baseline, session six and session 12. Treatment engagement, satisfaction and rapport were also measured. Results: Fifty-one percent of participants completed the 12-session intervention. The results demonstrated that the number of drug using occasions in the past 28 days significantly reduced from baseline compared to session 12. Furthermore, a significant reduction was identified in BPD symptom severity, emotion dysregulation, and non-acceptance, experiential avoidance and psychological inflexibility from baseline to session 12. Conclusions: For those individuals who completed the 12-session emotion regulation intervention, there were significant reductions across a number of clinical outcomes. However, retention in treatment for this vulnerable client group remains a significant challenge in the AOD setting

Emotion Regulation Profiles: Identification of Subgroups During Middle Childhood

This study utilizes a unique approach for examining the role of emotion-related characteristics in predicting adjustment during childhood. The first aim of this study was to examine emotion-related characteristics using a person-centered approach in order to identify subgroups of children based on emotion regulation profiles. These profiles consisted of scores on nine emotion-related variables, assessed through children\u27s self-reports of the experience and expression of sadness and anger, as well as the strategies they used for modifying these emotions. The second aim of the study was to determine if subgroup membership was associated with self- and peer-reports of adjustment (i.e., self-reported depression, peer-reported aggression, and self-reported social competence and peer-reported sociability). In total, 150 children in grades 3 through 6 participated in the study. Using latent variable mixture modeling (LVMM), five subgroups were identified (First Aim). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that subgroup membership was differentially associated with self-report of depression andsocial competencebut not with peer-report of aggression and sociability (Second Aim). Follow-up analyses showed that subgroup classifications did not account for significant variance in adjustment beyond that which was accounted for by the emotion-related variables that characterized the subgroups. The importance of considering multiple emotion regulation components was demonstrated in both the person- and variable-centered analyses. The results are discussed in terms of the associations between subgroup classification and adjustment as viewed from both person- and variable-centered perspectives

Perceptions of Parental Awareness of Emotional Responses to Stressful Life Events

There is a need to better understand family processes related to recovery from past stressful life events. The present study aimed to investigate links between perceptions of parental awareness regarding stressful life events, continued event-related rumination, and current symptoms of depression. Students at a diverse, urban university completed a life events checklist and a semistructured interview regarding family processing of stressful life events, as well as self-report measures of event-related rumination and depression. Results indicated that perceptions of mothers’ and fathers’ awareness of sadness regarding stressful life events as well as mothers’ and fathers’ verbal event processing predicted symptoms of event-related rumination and depression. Results support the inclusion of perceptions of parental awareness in the understanding of how emerging adults continue to cope with past stressful life events