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This study examined sixth-graders' reading comprehension and component reading abilities in relation to two measures of print exposure: an author recognition test (ART) involving fiction authors and a reading habits questionnaire (RHQ) about children's voluntary reading for enjoyment across various genres. The ART correlated only with children's fiction book reading habits, not with other habits such as nonfiction book or magazine reading, and had a stronger relationship to all tested reading abilities than did the RHQ. Strong comprehenders in reading outperformed weak comprehenders on all component reading measures, ART score, and fiction habits; however, weak comprehenders scored higher than did strong comprehenders on the indicator of nonfiction reading habits. The two groups of comprehenders did not differ significantly on other reported reading habits. The results are discussed in relation to children's specific book choices and demonstrate the relevance of genre to evaluations of children's print exposure., (C)2010 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Several perspectives dominate as explanations for neighborhood preferences: pure race, racial proxy, race-based neighborhood stereotyping, and race-associated neighborhood factors. This analysis extends and supports the pure race and race-associated neighborhood factors arguments by showing that these theories are applied differently depending on respondents' social class, race and ethnicity, and whether they are talking about white, black, or Latino neighborhoods. Race-associated factors are emphasized for white and black neighborhoods, but pure race serves as a better theoretical framework for understanding people's preferences for Latino neighborhoods. I analyze qualitative interview data, using maps of real neighborhoods and hypothetical neighborhood show cards, to examine the neighborhood preferences of 65 white, black, and Latino residents in Ogden, Utah, and Buffalo, New York.

This article builds on existing knowledge of inmate resistance by analyzing formerly incarcerated women's narratives about prison food. Participants described trying to secure extra cafeteria portions, hoarding food, smuggling and stealing food, and cooking and eating in the cellsall to resist prison power and gain some control over their lives by managing what, how, when, and with whom they ate. These data shed light on prison life and suggest changes to food policy to curb inmate resistance and bolster the rehabilitative potential of correctional facilities.

For more than a century the social work profession has had a dual purpose: to promote individual well-being and social justice, but the micro-macro divide is fragmenting the profession. This article suggests that the profession's aim might best be realized by adopting a unifying purpose, a just sense of well-being. Research on complex adaptive systems conceptualizes a unifying purpose as vertical integration carried out in differentiated ways in discrete moments of practice in various settings. Interpersonal neurobiology and Aristotle's interdependence of character virtues and practical judgment inform a corresponding shift from the dualities of personal and professional to the social worker as a person with differentiated professional capacities and activities. Integration with differentiation enhances capacity to promote the profession's purpose.

Unusual events, beyond mere coincidences, may occur during the course of psychotherapy. Yet, clinical training often does not prepare therapists how to understand and potentially engage with these encounters. The aim of this report is to explore the emergence of synchronistic events in therapy, while providing two clinical case composites to illustrate the author's central points. Drawing on the Celtic concept of thin places, a new understanding of synchronicities and the therapeutic relationship is offered.

This paper examines the means by which Estonian national identity was preserved during 50years of Soviet occupation. The study upon which it is based explored such factors as family environments; memories, in the form of oral narratives; and life experiences. This research was informed by the sociocultural approach to mediated action, and it employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In 1993, a quota-sampling technique was used to interview a cross section of Estonian society (N=930). Descriptive statistics, and factor and multiple regression analyses were performed. Fifteen qualitative interviews were also conducted. When woven together, these personal histories create a fabric that is representative of the greater Estonian history during the occupation. The implications of these findings may reach beyond the Estonian context to further inform our understanding of the complexities and the vicissitudes of human action.

Rising inequality and concomitant economic insecurity and poverty is a continuing problem in the United States today. Enacting full employment policies would resolve this problem and would serve as a viable poverty reduction strategy. Using a more accurate measure of unemployment such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics U-6 measure would reveal the true unemployment rate. This article provides different strategies, historical and more recent, for enacting full employment with a living wage, particularly the enactment of a permanent national public service employment program administered by the states through the TANF Emergency Fund. Public sector employment expansion in the green or clean economy would benefit the urban unemployed the most. To achieve these ends, social workers, unions and community activists will need to collaborate. Finally, the Federal Reserve should review the history of the relationship between unemployment and inflation rates and develop a more accurate formula for attaining full employment while keeping inflation low. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

We conducted an exploratory research study looking at fathering interactions as they relate to the wraparound care given by the Partnership for Kids or PARK Project, a school-based system of care in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The questions posed by our research focused on how fathers' positive interaction measured by their levels of engagement and accessibility can moderate the effect of the school-based system of care intervention on the mental health outcomes of children with serious emotional disturbances. We found that, although not statistically significant, children's access to their father did have a moderating effect on CBCL scores for internalizing behaviors and total problems. There was very small change in CBCL scores for externalizing behaviors. Further, the moderating effect of father accessibility and father engagement had a lasting effect as a moderator through 12 months into the intervention, especially with regard to internalizing behavior scores.

Recent emphasis has been placed on the central role of the therapeutic relationship in successful treatment. One aspect of the development of an effective relationship is the clinical social worker's use of self. We argue that the use of self happens both consciously and unconsciously and is a dynamic and evolving process in psychotherapy. This evolution can result in the clinical social worker shifting from a stance of doing to being. Drawing from a Japanese tradition of learning, three stages of learning provide a framework for understanding how therapists may transition from a state of doing to being in the therapy. Through this process, the conscious use of self may develop into unconscious use of self. Two case examples demonstrate how expanding and using one's self-awareness and the new knowledge through meaningful learning experiences can shift a clinical social worker's ability to develop and enhance his or her use of self, inviting therapeutic presence and depth. © 2015, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Prison foodways narratives can expand knowledge about cultural beliefs and perceptions of correctional systems. This exploratory analysis, based in qualitative interview data, seeks to initiate dialogue about the ways in which formerly incarcerated women in the US deploy racialized food narratives when describing the acquisition, preparation, and consumption of prison food. The participants’ food narratives construct prison as a non-white space that is better matched for African-American and Latina women, reinforcing and enacting larger cultural notions about incarceration. This opening analysis calls for more research and deliberation about how prison foodways narratives contribute to understandings about and perceptions of correctional systems and incarcerated people. © 2015, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Common factors are conditions and processes present in, among, and surrounding participants in clinical work. In the past 20 years, increasing attention and research on common factors has generated a great deal of discussion in clinical psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family therapy, and to a lesser extent, social work. While there is no single definition of common factors, they are generally discussed as the non-technical aspects of therapeutic work-such as the relationship between the practitioner and client and the expectancy of the client-that have been shown to be associated with successful outcomes. Common factors also include attributes of the practitioner and client, the support system of the client, the institutional and organizational conditions in which the practitioner practices, and also the strategic actions employed by the practitioner, client, and all those involved in the work that promote change. This paper will discuss key concepts in a common factors practice perspective and how evidence is used by common factors practitioners, highlight features of common factors practice, and suggest implications for developing a common factors practice approach.

There is a growing divide in social work between those that believe social work interventions should be based on either art or science. We argue that these positions create a false dichotomy within the profession, possibly due to the language associated with clinical work and research. In this introduction article of the Special Issue: Beyond the Manual, we outline the debate within social work around the art and science split and then offer a new approach to framing the issue. We argue that social workers are regularly approaching their work with clients using art and science simultaneously and describe a new frame for the profession. In an effort to articulate and promote this new frame, this special issue was born. This introductory article concludes with a brief description of the topics and articles included in the issue to orient the reader to the content included within it.

In this final article of the special issue Beyond the Manual: Using Data and Judgment in Clinical Social Work Practice, we extend the discussion regarding the use of data and judgment. We discuss the multiple sources of data used in practice, including research evidence, client perspectives and experience, moment-by-moment process observation, and client feedback regarding progress towards specific, desired outcomes. We move beyond current debates purporting one framework over another to propose a synthesizing framework that situates evidence-based practice, empirically supported interventions and common elements/mapping and adapting practice within a common factors scaffolding framework. This framework provides a way for social workers to effectively make sound judgments using research and client data within the demands of contemporary practice. The article provides a brief overview of the four practice approaches followed by the proposed scaffolding framework and rationale, and concludes with implications for practice, professional education, and research.