Contested theories of prison labor practice

In recent years, prison strikes and controversies have brought public attention to the systemic problems with prison labor in the United States. Such labor often exploits people who are imprisoned to do work that is vital to society—including firefighting, farming, or manufacturing consumer goods—with wages that can be less than a dollar per hour in highly coercive working conditions. Although there is call to end prison labor today, theories of prison labor have historically been contested, even among activists and progressive reformers. Accordingly, this review offers a short sociological history of labor in correctional environments, highlights contemporary controversies, and argues for a more fine-grained approach to the relationships among labor, prisons, and reentry. It traces the field of reformers and scholars that have made arguments for punitive, rehabilitative, restorative, and transformative approaches to work. The contested theories of prison labor across time and space suggest that a better understanding is needed of what makes labor exploitative and what forms of labor have the potential to transform the root causes of crime, within and beyond prison walls. Overall, this review has implications for those who study prison and reentry programs, relationships between crime and community, and the political economy of incarceration.     

Socializing Children About Family Structure: Perspectives of Lesbian and Gay Adoptive Parents

Despite increasing numbers of lesbian- and gay- (LG-) parent families, little research on LG-adoptive-parent families has examined parental beliefs and perceptions related to discussing their sexual minority status with their children. This study assessed 266 LG adoptive parents (160 lesbian mothers, 106 gay fathers) from the Modern Adoptive Families (MAF) study, a nationwide survey (2012–2013) of adoptive parents' pre- and post-placement experiences. A cultural socialization lens provided the framework for examining LG parenting beliefs and practices. Two measurement scales were developed to examine parents' perceptions and self-efficacy related to socializing their child about being in a sexual-minority-parent family. Results indicate that LG parents endorse the importance of unique socialization practices and generally feel confident engaging in these practices. Parent education, transracial adoption, endorsement of racial socialization, and socialization self-efficacy were positively associated with endorsement of socialization practices. Excellent reliability suggests the 2 scales have the potential of being psychometrically sound instruments with which to measure parental endorsement and related self-efficacy of socialization practices for families headed by sexual minority parents. Findings contribute to a deeper understanding of socialization and communication patterns in LG-headed families, especially those formed through adoption. Research, policy, and practice implications are discussed.     

Danish and Norwegian hospital social workers’ cross-institutional work amidst inter-sectoral restructuring of health and social welfare

Starting in the 2000s, Denmark and Norway have undergone extensive restructuring of their health-related social benefit programmes, including how they are governed. Several reforms have sought to enhance inter-sectoral collaboration. Aiming at ensuring patients’ faster return to work, policy-makers have instituted economic incentives to both individuals and the health and welfare organisations who handle them. Through an institutional logics approach, this paper explores how hospital social workers in these countries are experiencing these changes. The ‘social’ part of post-treatment care and rehabilitation receives more attention in the Norwegian institutional set-up than in the Danish, and whilst challenges are experienced in both countries, in group interviews Danish social workers in particular express concerns about the implications of the accelerated return-to-work focus. In both countries, they report increasing difficulties in ‘making their way through’ the state-municipal bureaucracy. However, by drawing on the formal health knowledge derived from medical settings and the symbolic capital it bestows on them, they often manage to negotiate the work-and-welfare services, thereby transforming the social context for the patients.     

Decision‐Making in Paediatric Rehabilitation: Exploring Professionals' and Children's Views on Decision‐Making Involvement

The article explores the distinction that professionals make between difficult and less difficult decisions in paediatric rehabilitation interventions. This distinction is explored by looking at the involvement of two children in decisions regarding paediatric rehabilitation interventions. The article argues for a clinical practice where children's experiences are extensively used to improve practice and to accommodate the child's right to participate in medical decisions concerning their own body and life. The different ways the children and the professional describe their experiences provide an avenue for a discussion on how medical reasoning can curtail children's involvement in decisions.     

Parent/carer views on personal health budgets for disabled children who use rehabilitation therapy services

Personalised budgets are promoted as the person-centred alternative to generically provided services. Nine parents/carers of disabled children (aged 18 years or younger) who accessed at least two rehabilitation therapy services (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy) were recruited from one region in England. Focus group/interviews explored their views on the proposed introduction of personalised budgets. Parents and carers viewed a personal health budget with caution and perceived benefits were tempered by their experiences of current provision. Concerns were raised about entitlement and how a personal budget would work in practice.     

城乡困难家庭的求助网络及其政策启示

文章使用“城乡困难家庭调查”2014年跟踪数据，对我国城乡困难家庭的求助网络结构和家庭因素进行分析，发现：血缘和亲缘关系仍是我国城乡困难家庭最天然的帮扶网络，但官方社会救助系统的作用已超过民间系统，邻里朋友仅在血亲和官方系统失灵时起补充作用；基层治理结构对求助网络的城乡差异产生影响，流动人口家庭求助网络呈现多元均衡的特征，但面临官方救助系统的制度性缺失；人口规模、低保资格两个家庭因素对城乡困难家庭求助网络有显著影响。文章认为，应进一步发挥社会力量的作用，针对我国城乡困难家庭建立官民并举、多元协作的社会救助政策体系。     

Modeling binary familial data using Gaussian copula

Modeling binary familial data has been a challenging task due to the dependence among family members and the constraints imposed on the joint probability distribution of the binary responses. This paper investigates some useful familial dependence structures and proposes analyzing binary familial data using Gaussian copula model. Advantages of this approach are discussed as well as some computational details. An numerical example is also presented with an aim to show the capability of Gaussian copula model in more sophisticated data analysis.     

Recovery From Mental Health Problems: Scratching The Surface Without Ethnography

This article examines a central plank of mental health policy (‘recovery’) in societies which have attempted to reverse the long-term warehousing of those with a diagnosis of mental disorder (de-institutionalisation). The emergence of the concept is traced in relation to the shift from an institutional to a more dispersed and community-based form of service organisation. Different usages of the term ‘recovery’, each with distinct implications for practice are considered on the part of three main interest groups (traditional bio-medical psychiatrists; social psychiatrists emphasising social skills training; and dissenting service users). These different usages suggest that ‘recovery’ is a polyvalent concept that creates an uneasy consensus point to define the management philosophies of local services enacting mental health policy. Also mental health work is about more than the group of patients mainly considered in relation to recovery (those with ‘severe and enduring mental health problems’). Practice-near research strategies are now required to investigate the varied practical scenarios these contradictions generate and ethnographic research is therefore indicated. Without multiple ethnographies, we will be left with competing rhetoric about recovery and its meaning or meanings may be rendered worthless.     

试论受众的心理需求与家庭伦理剧的叙事样态之关系——以上世纪90年代的家庭伦理剧为例

20世纪90年代以来的家庭伦理剧在叙事样态上呈现的特点是受众心理与时代文化的“共谋”。为满足观众补偿现实生活之不足的心理需求，在叙事主旨、叙事精神上表现出回归传统伦理道德、彰显底层与民粹的倾向；受观众认知现实的观看心理的影响，在视觉图谱和风格上呈现出现实主义的平民世界图景；为满足观众的娱乐心理，家族伦理剧在伦理形态上呈现出快乐伦理的指向。研究表明，90年代以来的家族伦理电视剧所呈现出的上述叙事样态与受众的补偿心理、认知心理以及娱乐心理互为生成。