Linking family engagement with a rights perspective: macro factors influencing practice

While child welfare practitioners in many countries are struggling to develop methods of effective family engagement, they operate within different national and cultural contexts that influence, both positively and negatively, the ability to engage with families. Increasingly, international comparisons are necessary to further understanding of the development of social work practice. This is particularly necessary because most countries utilize international frameworks (such as the United National Convention on the Rights of the Child) to provide guidance in the development of policies, programs, and interventions. Each country (and locality) struggles to advance practice to be more effective and humane. Our paper offers a comparative analysis focused on family-oriented and rights-based frameworks of different countries. Based on a review of current national policies and a review of the literature regarding family-based practices, we examine similarities and differences among four countries: the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States, and South Korea. These countries were selected because they have some similarities (advanced industrialized democracies, professional social work, and formal child protection systems) but have some differences in their social welfare systems (policies, specific practices, and socio-cultural context). These differences can be utilized to advance understanding regarding the promise and potential for family engagement strategies. We then discuss the utility of this comparison for theory-building in the arena of child-care practice and conclude by identifying the challenges and limitations of this work.     

Du machisme au coparentage: pour une révolution des mentalités en Italie

Cet article décrit les processus législatifs et judiciaires complexes nécessaires pour que le droit au coparentage s'impose dans le droit du travail italien. Après avoir expliqué que le système juridique italien a jusqu'à présent assimilé la protection de la famille à la seule protection de la femme et de la maternité, l'auteur décrit l'évolution législative qui a permis de reconnaître aux pères un rôle fondamental dans l'éducation des enfants. Il montre ensuite que la jurisprudence, en retenant une interprétation moderne des principes inscrits dans la loi, contribue à vaincre la résistance à une telle évolution dans une société encore marquée par la domination masculine.     

A qualitative study on participants’ perceptions of child development accounts in Korea

ABSTRACT

In 2007, Korea implemented Child Development Accounts (CDAs) for institutionalised children in child welfare systems. Since then, the target group and a matching cap of CDAs in Korea have evolved. The target group expanded to include poor children receiving welfare, whereas the matching cap increased from KRW 30,000 (US$26.53) to KRW 40,000 (US$35.38), which is matched at a 1:1 rate. Despite the expansion, there is little empirical evidence examining the extent to which CDAs have influenced the life of participants. Using a content analysis method with a sample (N = 22), this study examines how CDAs have changed children’s mindsets, saving habits, education, future planning and sponsorship. The findings suggest that CDAs have multiple positive influences on children. This study concludes with policy implications for the inclusive and progressive development of CDAs in Korea.     

Influence diagnostics for the structural sharpe model under normal/independent distributions

A method is proposed in this paper to assess the local influence of minor perturbations for the Sharpe model when the normal distribution is replaced by normal/independent (NI) distributions. The family of NI distributions is an attractive class of symmetric heavy-tailed densities that includes as special cases the normal, t-Student, slash, and the contaminated normal distributions. Since the returns of the market are not observable, the statistical analysis is carried out in the context of an errors-in-variables model. An influence analysis for detecting influential observations (atypical returns) is developed to investigate the sensitivity of the maximum likelihood estimators. Diagnostic measures are obtained based on the conditional expectation of the complete-data log-likelihood function. The results are illustrated by using a set of shares of companies traded in the Chilean stock market.     

Non uniform exponential bounds on normal approximation by Stein’s method and monotone size bias couplings

It is known that the normal approximation is applicable for sums of non negative random variables, W, with the commonly employed couplings. In this work, we use the Stein’s method to obtain a general theorem of non uniform exponential bound on normal approximation base on monotone size bias couplings of W. Applications of the main result to give the bound on normal approximation for binomial random variable, the number of bulbs on at the terminal time in the lightbulb process, and the number of m runs are also provided.     

元前文献图籍所载黄河河源

有关黄河河源的概念，古代各种史学、地理、以及宗教文献都有相关记载。早期文献中提出的重源潜流的概念，也为塑造河源空间概念留下了发挥余地。及至唐朝，各种类书、笔记、野史关于位于境外的河源的著述沿用了上述文献中已有的地理知识，并融入了佛教世界观的空间概念以及唐代实地考察的纪录，逐渐构成了河源这一多元化的空间想象。本文探讨了不同知识框架对唐代河源记载的影响，以及在几幅现存宋代地图上所反映出的相关影响。这类文献资料有助于我们理解中古地理知识的深化与演变，以及后代地图上展示河源的更丰富的地图表现形式。     

Child protection social workers' constructions of children and childhood: An integrative review

Social workers' constructions of children and childhood are central to how professionals interact with children and support their needs. The aim of this integrative review was to provide a comprehensive portrayal of child protection social workers' constructions of children and childhood. We analysed and synthesized 35 empirical studies with samples of social workers in the child protection domain where issues regarding the child or the child's situation were the study focus. The findings show that children and youth are constructed as a generalized group viewed in light of their parents. We see a fragmented and context‐free child produced by causal shortcuts strongly informed by specific and, at times, simplified and biased psychological knowledge. Moreover, we identify constructions of the child in need of protection and thereby position children as objects for intervention, separating that from children as subjects in their own rights. Although the participatory child is visible in the data material, the actual practice of involving children seems arbitrary.     

基于鱼刺图分析法的研究生导师师德师风建设研究 ——以河北工程大学为例

通过对国务院、教育部、河北省和河北工程大学出台的研究生导师立德树人与师德师风建设的系列规章制度进行研读、分析,梳理出研究生导师立德树人行为与师德师风建设的核心要素主要包括十六个维度;引入鱼刺分析图作为分析工具,将研究生导师立德树人与师德师风建设相应的十六个维度核心因素归纳整理为四大类、二十个小类因素,绘制成研究生导师立德树人与师德师风建设影响因素鱼刺分析图,给出了研究生导师立德树人与师德师风建设的影响因素一览表;结合河北工程大学实际,以研究生导师立德树人行为与师德师风建设影响因素鱼刺分析图为分析脉络,经过实地调查、走访,总结了该校研究生导师师德师风与立德树人建设所取得的成绩,发现了该校研究生导师师德师风与立德树人建设所存在问题;提出了优化研究生导师师德师风的实现路径和对策。