This volume has long been an invaluable resource for students and practitioners of social work. It thoroughly and clearly presents research concepts and skills, uniquely organizing them according to assessment and treatment formulation, treatment implementation and monitoring, and evaluation. Also, numerous practice cases and detailed exercises offer a complete grasp of crucial concepts and techniques.

This new edition reflects contemporary developments in practice research, such as an emphasis on empirical or evidence-based practice; the importance of evaluation within the managed-care environment; the role of social work ethics in practice research; the value of qualitative research methodology for particular aspects of monitoring and evaluation; and the role of computer technology and the use of the Internet.

This is a book of poems that is based on the premise that products of art such as musical composition, painting, sculpture, and architecture can serve as stimuli for the development of original poems. These products of art evoke a range of emotions from love, anger, and hate to anxiety, fear, and melancholy; and they can be expressed in original poems. Forty-four works of art were identified; for example, Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, Picasso's Guernica, Michelangelo's David, and the Great Pyramid of Giza. For each of the works of art an original poem emphasizing feelings and emotions was developed.

This is a book of poems about celebration and reflections of significant events during the years of 2012 and 2013. It covers a range of emotions from the joys of celebrations to feelings of tragedy and despair as explicated in mass murder and horror. Scenes of love and adoration are depicted in poems about Thanksgiving, Father's Day, Mother's Day, and patriotic holidays. The author reflects on his life as it is affected by days of celebration such as Independence Day, Easter and Christmas.

An American Professor in Italy is about an American professor of Italian descent who recounts his travels in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar, program evaluator for the European Common Market, tourist, and owner of an Italian timeshare. He reflects on Italian Culture and its stereotypes, and shares impressions of Italians in poignant and humorous anecdotes. Throughout the book he conveys a strong sense of pride and love for Italy and its Italians.

Dr. Tripodi discovers his Italian roots and describes a wide range of experiences in 52 vignettes and several poems concerned with topics such as these: his mother's house in Italy, the church his grandfather built, a conversation with Anna Maria Levi, sister of world-famous author Primo Levi, an Italian lover, the seductive city of Venice, the Jewish Ghetto, the University of Padova, Michelangelo in Rome and Florence, La Scala di Milano, and Juliet's balcony in Verona.

An American Professor in Italy is about an American professor of Italian descent who recounts his travels in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar, program evaluator for the European Common Market, tourist, and owner of an Italian timeshare. He reflects on Italian Culture and its stereotypes, and shares impressions of Italians in poignant and humorous anecdotes. Throughout the book he conveys a strong sense of pride and love for Italy and its Italians.

Dr. Tripodi discovers his Italian roots and describes a wide range of experiences in 52 vignettes and several poems concerned with topics such as these: his mother's house in Italy, the church his grandfather built, a conversation with Anna Maria Levi, sister of world-famous author Primo Levi, an Italian lover, the seductive city of Venice, the Jewish Ghetto, the University of Padova, Michelangelo in Rome and Florence, La Scala di Milano, and Juliet's balcony in Verona.

This book is a chronologue of personal and historic events that have occurred in the lifetime of Dr. Tony Tripodi, a former dean and professor emeritus of Ohio State University. His thoughts and feelings are expressed in 50 vignettes that span 78 years from Birth, The Great Depression, and WWII to the assassination of J.F.K. and Reverend Martin Luther King's speech, "I Have a Dream" to the Holocaust, the rescue of coal miners in Chile, Funerals, and the love of Italy, the home of his ancestors. Dr. Tripodi provides poignant reflections and insights in a format by which each of us can write and talk about those personal and historic events that are meaningful in our lives. By referring to his lifetime expressions, he illustrates how all of us have our own unique expressions that span our lifetimes.

My Cane and I: A Memoir of a Disability, by Tony Tripodi, a retired university professor, is a personal journey of one man's struggle in using a cane to ward off arthritis. He shares his fears and anxieties about old age and the perceptions that we have about cane users. Poignant, hilarious, tragi-comical, and amusing anecdotes are presented to depict human foibles in the cane world: the window washer who wishes to retire but can't stand his wife; the lady who had hip surgery, limps, and is proud she doesn't need to use a cane; an unexpected adventure with an acupuncturist; three men who call themselves the cane set; and many more real and imaginary episodes captured in brief vignettes.

When we bask in the sun, tanning on the shore, we dream and think of our fondest desires away from the beach. Love and Hope by the Sea is a collection of original poems inspired by the moods of people who dream and walk by the sea. The poems are about sadness and joy, ranging from frivolous observations to the mystery of religion in our lives. Above all, they are about hope and the promise of love, yearnings by the sea.

My Cane and I: A Memoir of a Disability, by Tony Tripodi, a retired university professor, is a personal journey of one man's struggle in using a cane to ward off arthritis. He shares his fears and anxieties about old age and the perceptions that we have about cane users. Poignant, hilarious, tragi-comical, and amusing anecdotes are presented to depict human foibles in the cane world: the window washer who wishes to retire but can't stand his wife; the lady who had hip surgery, limps, and is proud she doesn't need to use a cane; an unexpected adventure with an acupuncturist; three men who call themselves the cane set; and many more real and imaginary episodes captured in brief vignettes.

This is a book of poems that reflect various parts of Catholicism, its rituals, and its meaning for those who attend mass at St. Patrick's in New York City and in other churches around the world. It is the author's reflections of Catholicism in a poetic memoir.

This book is about an immigrant woman and her youngest son. Christina, from Calabria, Italy, came to America in an arranged marriage, experiencing the immigrant life in a strange land, and coping with the shame and degradation of mental illness. Through her strong will and determination, she rose from the despair of poverty to become a woman who owned and rented many properties. Christina's son, Tony, struggled to understand her inconsistent love and paranoid delusions. Influenced by her strengths and weaknesses, he developed from a frightened boy to a juvenile delinquent, to a serious student, and to a well-known scholar in social work research. Yet, to this day, he has yet to reach maturity in his interpersonal relationships.

Tuscan Landscapes is a collection of poems that represent impressions of Tuscany. Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of this Renaissance land - the next best thing to being there!

When Joe Torchy Torchia, the last of Sacramento s legendary great gamblers, died in a hail of bullets in 1970, an era died with him. In his day, The Torch was many things to many people.

This volume has long been an invaluable resource for students and practitioners of social work. It thoroughly and clearly presents research concepts and skills, uniquely organizing them according to assessment and treatment formulation, treatment implementation and monitoring, and evaluation. Also, numerous practice cases and detailed exercises offer a complete grasp of crucial concepts and techniques.

This new edition reflects contemporary developments in practice research, such as an emphasis on empirical or evidence-based practice; the importance of evaluation within the managed-care environment; the role of social work ethics in practice research; the value of qualitative research methodology for particular aspects of monitoring and evaluation; and the role of computer technology and the use of the Internet.

Program administrators and planners face increasing pressure from funding sources, professional groups, and recipients of service to provide and to make use of systematic data. Until recently, administrators could rely on research consultants to assist them in performing these research tasks, but with increased costs and reduced funds, many administrators and planners have had to utilize research concepts and techniques themselves in developing, maintaining, and modifying social programs. "Research Techniques for Program Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation" is designed to provide research skills that will assist administrators directly in making program decisions. The book offers administrators of health, education, and social welfare programs, as well as students of social work and public administration, a wide range of research techniques for increasing the quality and effectiveness of administrative practice, lessening at the same time their dependence on costly research consultation. "Research Techniques" contains three major sections: program planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Each section begins with a description of the administrative function to which it is devoted, followed by a set of selected research techniques, each illustrated with a hypothetical case and an exercise for the reader in applying the technique to an existing social program or agency. Planning for a new agency program requires valid and reliable information about the needs of the target population, the existing programs to meet these needs, effective intervention stratifies, and the skills of the members of the agency staff. Professors Epstein and Tripodi suggest valuable guidelines for collecting these data. In addition, they outline the specific decisions that must be made so that realistic objectives can be set for relating client demand to the available supply of services. Among the research techniques for the program planning which they explore are questionnaires, interviews, research literature already available, and observational techniques. Monitoring measures the actual program performance against its planning objectives, enabling administrators to modify a program operation or report its success to sponsors. With program monitoring, an administrator can decide whether to reallocate staff, to ask for an increase in budget, or to realign policies in compliance with legal requirements. Separate chapters are devoted to sampling techniques for asserting staff performance as well as to the principles of data analysis. Program evaluation takes effectiveness and efficiency into account in assembling the achievement of program goals. Emphasizing administrative self-evaluation, "Research Techniques" explains the interrupted time series design, the replicated cross-sectional survey design, comparative designs, and the crossover design in terms the nonstatistician will find easy to understand. "Research Techniques for Program Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation" is an indispensable guide, offering administrators and planners sound professional advice on more responsible administrative decision making.

"As an introduction to measurement in practice, this book presents an easy and practical overview. It provides a summary of relevant research concepts in the context of both practice and research processes. Each chapter, furthermore, includes a series of exercises that enable readers to test their comprehension of relevant concepts. . . . Those social workers beginning to apply research concepts, including measurement, to their practice will find the book a good introduction."

With the constant exchange of international information now a permanent condition in the world, social work scholars and students must be sensitive to the need for knowledge sharing between countries as well as to issues involved in obtaining and utilizing international knowledge. Yet until now, no book has juxtaposed these two growing streams of emphasis. In this clearly written volume, Tony Tripodi and Miriam Potocky-Tripodi fill that gap, presenting readers with the many prospects and great potential for international social work research.
The authors establish three discrete varieties of research supra-national, intra-national, and trans-national and explore a wealth of issues and examples within each. The easy-to-follow format helps readers learn how to define and distinguish each kind of research, then provides actual applications of all three. Examples draw on research from the world over, and range from microcredit programs in India to migrant aid in Nicaragua to adoptees in Romania. These unique features make it an ideal sequel to basic research texts in social work and supplement to texts on international social work, but also an attractive addition to any faculty researchers bookshelf.