Social housing investment: Housing policy and finance in the UK and the Netherlands, 1970–1992

Levels of social housing investment in the UK and the Netherlands are considered for the period 1970–1992. The changing housing policies and the developing structures of social housing finance are analysed. These factors have contributed to the decline in social housing construction in the UK and the Netherlands. In particular, the desire of governments in both countries to cut public capital expenditure on housing and increase the role of private, capital in new construction reduced the output during the 1980s. In the UK, a tight monetarist policy was adopted with the aim of keeping inflation down. This can be seen as a major cause of declining levels of public expenditure on housing production. In the Netherlands, a more significant role, compared to the UK, seems to have been played by developments on the housing market, especially the real estate crisis in 1978–1982. In both countries, the outlook for investment in social housing is gloomy Hugo Priemus hold the chair in housing at Delft Unviersity of Technology, and he is managing director of OTB Research Institute for Policy and Technology Jacqueline Smith is research assistant at the School of the Built Environment, De Montfort University, Leicester, (UK). Both cooperate in the Centre for Comparative Housing Research, a joint venture between the School of the Built Environment and OTB.     

Reliability and validity of the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI): Evidence from a longitudinal cross-informant investigation.

Psychometric properties of the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI) were examined using data collected from adolescents and their parents in the Fullerton Longitudinal Study. Results revealed acceptable internal consistency for most scales and moderate to high 1-year stability for all scales. Both parents' PCRI scores correlated with their views of family climate. Cross-informant concordance was pervasive and strong between mothers' PCRI scores and adolescents' perceptions of the parent-child relationship and family climate; however, convergence was not evident between fathers' and adolescents' reports. Additionally, poor performance was observed for the Autonomy scale. In conjunction with other research on parent-adolescent relationships, concerns are raised regarding the utility of scales to contrast mother-adolescent with father-adolescent relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social skills training for withdrawn unpopular children with physical disabilities: A preliminary evaluation.

Examined changes in self-concept, perceptions of support from close friends and classmates, and loneliness in 11 8.6–14.6 yr old withdrawn unpopular children with cerebral palsy or spina bifida who had been involved in a social skills training program. The program targeted 5 basic skills: interpersonal problem solving, verbal and nonverbal communication, initiating interactions with peers, conversational skills, and coping with difficult others. To assess the impact of the program, Ss were evaluated before the intervention, after the 10-wk intervention, and at a 6-mo follow-up. Findings indicate that group social skills training may be effective in decreasing feelings of loneliness and increasing perceptions of social acceptance in children who are withdrawn and unpopular at school. Ss' feelings of loneliness were associated with lower ratings of social acceptance and lower ratings of classmate support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Survival of the House Dust Mite,Dermatophagoides farinae,at High Temperatures (40–80°C)

Abstract Experiments were conducted to evaluate the survival time of randomly selected female D. farinae exposed to temperatures from 40 to 80°C and relative humidities (RHs) between 10 and 90%. Significant temperature effects were found on the length of time mites can survive under those conditions. The time needed to induce 100% mortality for female D. farinae held at 40°C varied between 39 and 84 h. At 70 and 80°C, all mites died within 5 minutes. At 50°C and above, RH had little influence and temperature alone was the determining factor for mite survival. The length of survival time decreased precipitously between 40 and 50°C, suggesting that a loss of physiological integrity of female D. farinae probably occurred in this range. The results of this study indicated that the technique of raising temperatures to above 40°C for a short duration can be used to reduce living house dust mite populations in homes significantly.     

Expanding the target of relapse-prevention training to include self-quit ex-smokers: Is there a need?

One possible cost-effective approach to reducing the prevalence of smoking is to provide minimal relapse-prevention (RP) interventions to self-quitting smokers who have already achieved initial cessation. To examine the feasibility of this approach and its attractiveness to ex-smokers, a single advertisement was placed in the Syracuse, New York, newspapers. This yielded 152 requests for free RP information. Participants had been chronic (M?=?28 years of smoking) heavy smokers (i.e., 30 cigarettes per day) who had abstained for a moderate length of time (8.4 months). As predicted, most respondents (85%) were self-quitters. Participants rated the RP material favorably but requested further help. Consistent with prior research, negative affectivity was associated with both perceived difficulty maintaining abstinence and interest in additional interventions. Findings suggest the need for controlled research on the efficacy of providing RP training to self-quitters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social competence promotion with inner-city and suburban young adolescents: Effects on social adjustment and alcohol use.

Assessed the impact of school-based social competence training on skills, social adjustment, and self-reported substance use of 282 6th and 7th graders. Training emphasized broad-based competence promotion in conjunction with domain-specific application to substance abuse prevention. The 20-session program comprised 6 units: stress management, self-esteem, problem solving, substances and health information, assertiveness, and social networks. Findings indicated positive training effects on Ss' skills in handling interpersonal problems and coping with anxiety. Teacher ratings revealed improvements in Ss' constructive conflict resolution with peers, impulse control, and popularity. Self-report ratings indicated gains in problem-solving efficacy. Results suggest some preventive impact on self-reported substance use intentions and excessive alcohol use. In general, the program was found to be beneficial for both inner-city and suburban students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The future of psychotherapy: Delphi data and concluding observations.

Studied predictions of trends in psychotherapy over the next decade by 75 psychologists, using Delphi methodology. Directive, present-centered, problem-focused, and brief therapies were expected to increase, whereas historically oriented, comparatively passive, and long-term approaches were predicted to decrease. Self-help groups and social workers were expected to proliferate, while the proportion of psychotherapy provided by psychiatrists was expected to diminish. Integrative, systemic, and cognitive orientations will be in the ascendancy, as opposed to classical psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential dyeing cotton. Part 2-stoichiometry of interaction with acid and direct dyes

The stoichiometry of interaction of both acid and direct dyes with cotton modified with a reactive cationic reagent has been examined. In the case of the acid dyes adsorption is principally by a specific site mechanism and gives a 1:1 ratio between cationic sites on the cotton and sulphonate groups on the dyes, although some diffuse adsorption occurs with the more hydrophobic dyes. The direct dyes show a much greater amount of diffuse adsorption in addition to specific site adsorption. The results show that the presence of the cationic sites enhance the amount of dye taken up by diffuse adsorption and a mechanism for this is proposed.