Determining the skills for child protection practice: from quandary to quagmire?

This article, the first of two, provides an account of an extended literature review that was undertaken in order to establish the evidence base for the learning and teaching of skills for child protection practice. It considers the contribution to the knowledge base from child abuse inquiries and from policies, guidelines and other documents from governmental departments and professional bodies. The subsequent analysis of terminology used for the review illustrates the complexity of searching for evidence that relates to concepts about which there are many differing perspectives, and also highlights the relevance to the study of activities undertaken by practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds. The paper describes the review method beginning with an initial search from which several hundred articles were located, only six of which generated evidence of value to the study. These six, however, highlighted a range of skills that provided the basis for a second, more focused search. Following an account of organisation and analysis of material, the paper concludes with discussion of some of the challenges presented during the process of this review, the complexities of which are reflected in the paper's title. A second paper will present the findings. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

COMPETITIVE FRAMING PROCESSES IN THE ABORTION DEBATE: Polarization-vilification, Frame Saving, and Frame Debunking

This article investigates how frame alignment processes are employed by a social movement organization in competitive response to a countermovement. Though the battles between feminist organizations such as NOW and conservative opposition are waged in many arenas, we focus exclusively on the ideological clash around abortion. After briefly describing the context of encounters, we examine the challenges launched against perceived threats to reproductive rights using New York State NOW chapter newsletters spanning 1970–1988. We identify three rhetorical strategies used by NOW to counterframe the debate for its members. polarization-vilification, frame debunking, and frame saving. Our findings suggest that in the face of opposition, framing strategies are modified with the goal of mobilization.     

Running the Gauntlet: Women's Use of Emotion Management Techniques in the Abortion Experience

Women who have abortions are caught in the crossfire of a heated ideological battle. The prochoice contention is that most women feel relieved after terminating an unwanted pregnancy. The antiabortion camp asserts killing an unborn child psychologically scars the mother. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with forty women who have terminated a pregnancy, this study examines how the clashing emotion culture of abortion politics shapes women's feelings about abortion. Findings indicate that women use behavioral and cognitive techniques in an attempt to transform unpleasant physiological reactions, inappropriate expressive gestures, and problematic emotional labels. As they run the gauntlet, women also strategically dodge or deliberately approach hazardous situational cues (e.g., abortion debate rhetoric and demonstrators, pictures of fetal development and the ultrasound, and babies and pregnant women) to achieve a feeling state that is consistent with their ideology.     

Determining the skills for child protection practice: emerging from the quagmire!

This paper, the second in a series of two, presents and analyses the results of an extended literature review undertaken for a Master's dissertation, the purpose of which was to establish the evidence base for the learning and teaching of skills for child protection practice. The review, discussed in the previous paper, was carried out in two stages. An initial search yielded a very small number of studies of direct relevance but they provided the trigger and the key words for a second search. Many potentially useful areas had to be omitted from the second stage because of limited resources, but the two stages in the search generated large amounts of material, much of which was indirectly relevant to child protection practice. The review did not achieve the original aim of determining skills that are identified through research and other evidence as being essential for child protection practice, but it was possible to draw some conclusions. For example, evidence was found of the importance of a range of communication skills, whether these be child focused, carer focused or inter‐professional. Skills in managing conflict and challenge were found to be crucial, with the importance of role clarification being acknowledged. There was some evidence of the use of decision‐making skills and problem‐solving skills, but little research that explored procedural skills. This paper reports on gaps in the literature identified by the review, and indicates where further research would be beneficial. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance Measures for Selection of Metamodels to be Used in Simulation Optimization

This paper points out the need for performance measures in the context of simulation optimization and suggests six such measures. Two of the measures are indications of absolute performance, whereas the other four are useful in assessing the relative performance of various candidate metamodels. The measures assess performance on three fronts: accuracy of placing optima in the correct location, fit to the response, and fit to the character of the surface (expressed in terms of the number of optima). Examples are given providing evidence of the measures' utility—one in a limited scenario deciding which of two competing metamodels to use as simulation optimization response surfaces vary, and the other in a scenario of a researcher developing a new, sequential optimization search procedure.     

Evaluating the Impact on Practice of Online Child Protection Education at Master’s level

Social workers, who have a key role in safeguarding children, need opportunities to develop and maintain skills, knowledge and attributes that will equip them to practise safely and effectively. Post-qualifying education and training opportunities are increasingly being delivered online, and this paper reports on an experience within one University, which began to deliver online postgraduate modules in child protection in 2007. Some key challenges for the lecturers were in creating an online climate of trust and respect with appreciation of differing perspectives, promoting skills of critical analysis and ensuring that theory was related to practice. While end-of-module evaluations indicated that students perceived the learning to be effective and relevant, however, there was no measure of the extent to which practice had been influenced by this learning. Funding received in 2013 supported a project that enabled evaluation of the impact on practice, both during the period of study and following completion of the modules. All individuals who had completed one or more relevant modules were invited to complete a questionnaire, and some were given follow up telephone interviews. Results indicate that many students felt initially anxious about embarking on the course of study, and in some cases ill prepared to embark on online learning at Master’s level. Despite this, however, there was a positive impact on practice that was immediate and, in many cases sustained, although students perceived that this was not always recognised in the workplace. The findings suggest that online learning can be effective in influencing practice but that lecturers must continue to strive to find strategies to help students to overcome difficulties such as isolation, lack of confidence and workload pressures. There is also a need for further research exploring crucial aspects such as managers’ perspectives regarding the impact on practice and the value to an organisation of Master’s level study.     

The social scene in Singapore

In this paper I will discuss the theory of counselling intellectually handicapped adults in groups with particular emphasis on group dynamics and casework methods. I will also relate this theory to practical group work of my own experience with adults from the Society for the Intellectually Handicapped Workshop, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand.     

Measuring the quality of economic forecasts

Most evaluations of forecasts have hitherto been primarily based on measure of statistical accuracy. Attention is drawn to the need for concentrating instead on the forecast components bearing on managerial decisions and on the economic effects of such decisions. The method suggested highlights the changing locus of the most influential errors over various time horizons. It also takes account of the economic consequences of under-estimates and over-estimates in forecasting, as well as of the penalties of belated correcting actions. Finally, some broader implications of this approach are discussed.