Beginnings and Endings: An Inquiry into the Attachment Orientations and Termination Approaches among Clinical Social Workers

All therapeutic relationships must come to an end. Although there is ample social work literature on the impact of termination on clients, there is a dearth of scholarship on the experiences of clinicians during this phase. This study explored the links between the levels of attachment orientation of a purposive sample (N=49) of clinical social workers and their subjective approaches to termination. The Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ) and the Termination Approaches Questionnaire (TAQ) (created for this study) were instruments used in this online survey design. The results suggested a statistically significant relationship between attachment orientation of clinical social workers and their approaches to termination. Participants with lower scores on the AAQ had higher scores on the engagement subscale of the TAQ indicating that those with higher attachment security were more likely engaging in the process of termination. Likewise, results suggested that the higher the AAQ scores the higher the scores on the avoidance subscale of the TAQ indicating that those with less secure attachment orientation were more likely avoiding the termination process. Qualitative results highlighted the emotional ambivalence, the opportunities, and the need for education about the termination phase. The worker’s role and the therapeutic relationship emerged as key factors in termination approaches. By bringing increased attention to termination and to clinician attachment in this phase of the work, this study strengthens the potential of clinical social workers engaged in outpatient psychotherapy practice to minimize unfavorable effects of termination on clients and on themselves

Application of Absorbing Markov Chains to the Assessment of Education Attainment Rates within Air Force Materiel Command Civilian Personnel

Increasing the education levels of an organization is a common response when attempting to improve organizational performance; however, organizational performance improvements are seldom found when the current and future workforce education levels are unknown. In this research, absorbing Markov chains are used to probabilistically forecast the educational composition of the Air Force Materiel Command civilian workforce to enable organizational performance improvements. Through the purposeful decoupling of effects resulting from recent workforce arrivals and education level progressions, this research attempts to determine the implications that stationarity assumptions have throughout the model development process of an absorbing Markov chain. The results of the analysis indicate that the four combinations of stationarity assumptions perform similarly at representing the historical data and that the forecasted educational attainment rates of the Air Force Materiel Command civilian workforce are expected to increase significantly

Energy analysis using a cube model

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-241).Given the pervasiveness of energy efficiency concerns in the built environment, this research aims to answer key questions regarding the performance of thermal mass construction. The work presents the Cube Model, a simplified model of the single-family home. The model combines simplified geometry and equivalent envelope parameters with accurate climate data and internal loading assumptions. The model first addresses the notion as to whether building simplification is a valid means of analysis through a calibration and validation study. Then, the model is used to address three research areas on passive thermal mass: (1) the quantification of thermal mass performance with respect to material thermal properties; (2) the optimization of thermal mass performance for given material parameters; and (3) the sensitivity of thermal mass performance to infiltration and geometry effects. The experiments for wall and slab constructions, to address the first research area, demonstrate that the energy savings from thermal mass are both climate and season dependent. Results provide the magnitude of energy savings in fifty climates across the United States. Optimization experiments on the material thickness and conductivity, to address the second research area, show that constructions do not reach peak thermal mass performance at the same thermal properties in all climates. Sensitivity analyses, to address the third research area, indicate that passive thermal mass and tight construction practices can be mutually optimized without a trade-off of energy performance. Geometry effects demonstrate that modifications in building design can either benefit or hinder the performance of passive thermal mass. The combination of the results suggests that optimum design for thermal mass performance and the resulting energy consumption are climate-dependent and sensitive to many factors aside from material thermal properties.by Alison C. Ledwith.S.M

Identity enactment as collective accomplishment:Religious identity enactment at home and at a festival

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the ESRC (Grant # RES-062-23-1449).Much research addresses the proposition that identifying with a group shapes individuals’ behaviour. Typically, such research employs experimental or survey methods, measuring or manipulating social identification and relating this to various outcome variables. Although shedding much light on the processes involved in the identity–behaviour relationship, such research tends to overlook the various constraints that limit individuals’ abilities to act in accordance with their identities. Using interview data gathered in north India, we explore the factors affecting the enactment of a religious identity. More specifically, using data gathered at a religious mass gathering, we compare and contrast participants’ reports of identity enactment when they are at the event and when they are in their home villages. These two contexts differ in terms of their social organization, especially the degree to which they are marked by the presence of a shared identity. Exploring participants’ accounts of such differences in social organization, we consider the social processes that constrain or facilitate identity enactment. In so doing, our analysis contributes to a richer analysis of the identity–behaviour relationship.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

‘Getting inside the wicket’: strategies for the social inclusion of British Pakistani Muslim cricketers

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are keen to increase the participation of British Asian groups, including those of British Pakistani Muslim (BPM) backgrounds, at mainstream levels of the game in order to meet their twin strategic aims of raising participation levels and fostering elite development. We argue that the potential to include BPM men in and through cricket is achievable, but strategies to engage them must address their social needs and circumstances rather than be superficial and tokenistic. Cricket agencies and bodies must be willing to adapt and change to become more inclusive, and indeed supportive of real meritocracy. Using research testimonies garnered from interviews with BPM men who play cricket at amateur mainstream and/or alternative formats of the game, we identify and forward strategies that can be activated by cricket development officers in order to create new possibilities for the social inclusion of BPM men

Harmonisation, Mosaicing and Production of the Global Land Cover 2000 Database.

Abstract not availableJRC.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra

A critique of Paulo Freire’s perspective on human nature to inform the construction of theoretical underpinnings for research

From Crossref via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: epub 2020-04-20, issued 2020-04-20Article version: VoRKate Sanders - ORCID 0000-0003-3516-7030 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3516-7030This article presents a critique of Paulo Freire's philosophical perspective on human nature in the context of a doctoral research study to explore “muchness” or nurses’ subjective experience of well‐being; and demonstrates how this critique has informed the refinement of the theoretical principles used to inform research methodology and methods. Engaging in philosophical groundwork is essential for research coherence and integrity. Through this groundwork, largely informed by Freire's critical pedagogy and his ideas on humanization, I recognized the need to clarify my understanding of the concepts of persons and personhood and how this related to Freire's use of the term human beings. This clarification process is essential to ensure congruence between the theoretical principles that I draw from his work and my beliefs about persons, personhood and person‐centredness. The article begins with a brief introduction to the research, followed by an overview of Freire's philosophical perspectives, and subsequently, the critique process is presented and discussed. This process involved engaging with the vast literature and debates about what it means to be a person, to make sense of the often complex and contradictory arguments. Eventually, three headings emerged that helped me to frame my evolving understanding: Our species: human beings ; The kind that we are: human nature ; and This person that I am: personhood. Through this process of exploration, I recognized that Freire's perspective on human nature (a) foregrounded cognitive rationality, which presented itself as a limitation when considering my ontological beliefs and the focus of my research, leading me to draw on the work of Mark Johnson and his ideas about embodiment to help me to further develop my theoretical principles; (b) focused on the “collective” rather than individuals, which is a shortcoming in relation to person‐centred research that acknowledges the uniqueness of participants.21pubpub

An Attribute-Based Approach to Classifying Community-Based Tourism Networks

This conceptual paper proposes the adoption of a collaborative network approach as a prospective means of improving success in implementing community-based tourism (CBT) initiatives. Drawing upon relevant literature, the researchers identify the key attributes that characterise a network-based approach. By proposing alternatives for each attribute, the research provides CBT practitioners with options for making informed decisions about how to build collaboration connecting individual CBT initiatives in multiple locations. The researchers discuss the implications of different approaches for power relations between stakeholders. The proposed framework provides a means of classifying existing CBT networks and analyses the types of network and the circumstances which lead to better outcomes for community development. Further empirical research is required to test the validity of the key network attributes and to develop a comprehensive classification system of CBT networks.School of Hotel and Tourism Managemen