Cohabitation and commitment: partnership plans of young men and women

Popular commentators on marriage and the family often interpret the increase in heterosexual couples living together without marrying as reduced willingness to create and honour life‐long partnerships. Survey and in‐depth interviews with samples of 20–29 year olds living in an urban area of Scotland finds little support for the postulated link between growing cohabitation and a weakened sense of commitment to long‐term arrangements. Most of the cohabiting couples strongly stressed their ‘commitment’. Socially acceptable vocabularies of motive undoubtedly influenced answers but interviews helped to explore deeper meanings. Many respondents’ views were consistent with previous research predictions of a weakening sense of any added value of marriage. At the same time, some respondents continued to stress the social significance of the distinction between marriage and cohabitation, consistent with research interpreting cohabitation as a ‘try and see’ strategy part‐way to the perceived full commitment of marriage. The notion that ‘marriage is better for children’ continued to have support among respondents. While, on average, cohabiting couples had lower incomes and poorer employment situations than married couples, only very extreme adverse circumstances were presented as making marriage ‘too risky’. Pregnancy‐provoked cohabitation was not always in this category. Cohabitation was maintained because marriage would ‘make no difference’ or because they ‘had not yet got round to’ marriage. Most respondents were more wary of attempting to schedule or plan in their personal life than in other domains and cohabitees’ attitudes to partnership, including their generally ‘committed’ approach, do not explain the known greater vulnerability of this group to dissolution.     

中国智慧与西方的进步

东方在公元500到1800年这一历史时期远比西方发达。东方在西方现代文明的兴起过程中起着举足轻重的作用。东方影响的来源主要是中国。具有儒道精神传统的民族正不断建立生产和技术上的国际标准,而英美民族似乎无法再与之竞争。如果西方毫不理解东方文明的深邃和博大,那么,当东方的民族从西方的扩张和侵入所带来的震惊和破坏中苏醒过来时,西方就会变得脆弱和不堪一击。西方的方式跟中国的方式相比,存在更大的局限性。西方文明的未来出路在东方。     

Why Do They Start It? Explaining Reported Early-Teen Sexual Activity

This paper seeks an account of why young teens initiate consensual sexual activity. It does so by constructing statistical models aimed at distinguishing those who report having initiated sexual activity from those who have not in four samples of eighth graders from an Upstate New York county. Theoretical selection of the model variables is guided by insights from problem syndrome, control and differential association theories. From our findings we conclude the following: (1) Risk behaviors foreseen by the problem syndrome approach, including having used marijuana and having been drunk, are significant, powerful predictors of early-teen sexual activity. (2) The social setting of consensual sexual activity differs by sex at the eighth grade level. For example, having a boyfriend is a more consistent, powerful predictor variable for girls than is having a girlfriend for boys and there is evidence to support the hypothesis that boys initiate sexual activity in the context of status-seeking while girls are more likely to do so as a way of attaining approval. (3) Our findings do not give clear primacy to parents or peers as an influence on early-teen consensual sexual activity. Both control theory, usually associated with parental-influence variables, and differential association theory, usually associated with peer-influence variables, receive support. (4) The results of the research spanning a 2-year period of intensive community antiteen-pregnancy efforts by a Zero Adolescent Pregnancy (ZAP) campaign are consistent with the conclusion that such a multifaceted approach might help lower early-teen initiation of sexual activity.     

Societal Response to Hurricane Mitch and Intra‐ versus Intergenerational Equity Issues: Whose Norms Should Apply?

Late in the 1998 hurricane season, Central America was slammed by a devastating hurricane. Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize were greatly impacted by Hurricane Mitch, one of the deadliest storms to affect the region in the past 200 years. The economies of each of these countries were badly affected. In the case of Honduras — at the time the fourth‐poorest country in Latin America — its president suggested that 50 years of progress had been wiped out by the floods and mudslides associated with this relatively short‐lived storm system. Humanitarian assistance poured into the region in the first months following the disaster. As of mid‐2000, various national, bilateral, international, and nongovernmental programs were in progress or on the drawing board for recovery, reconstruction, and renewed development of the worst affected countries. Using Honduras as a case study, some of the ethical issues that abound in the decisions of whom to help, when, and how to help them in the wake of such an extreme climate‐related human tragedy are examined. Should development assistance be focused on those who have been directly and adversely affected by this storm, or should the emphasis be on reducing the risk of exposure by future generations to such disasters? Is there yet another approach that seeks to protect future generations from similar harm while at the same time assisting present‐day victims to get through their hardships?     

Managing Technology for Competitive Advantage : Editors

The value of listening and talking to young people with experience of the care system has been recognised as a vital and positive contribution to social work students' learning. A model of co-production was used to develop a series of speed mentoring events whereby social work students placed in local authority children and family settings were mentored by young people with experience of the care system. This tentative review of this small-scale project shares the authors' critical reflections on the value and reliability of this model, for evaluating the outcomes of co-productive mentoring relationships between young people and social work students. The reversal of the power dynamic between student and service user contributed to the unsettling of assumptions about each other and empathy for each other's role. The student authors reflect on learning about the child's experience that has influenced their practice. The mentor authors welcomed the opportunity to participate in the development of ‘young people friendly’ social workers. Suggestions are made as to how this model could be developed to contribute to a more systematic approach to the role of service users in mentoring, advising and contributing to the supervision process of students and social workers.     

Speed Mentoring in Teaching and Learning: Young people with experience of the care system mentor social work students

The value of listening and talking to young people with experience of the care system has been recognised as a vital and positive contribution to social work students' learning. A model of co-production was used to develop a series of speed mentoring events whereby social work students placed in local authority children and family settings were mentored by young people with experience of the care system. This tentative review of this small-scale project shares the authors' critical reflections on the value and reliability of this model, for evaluating the outcomes of co-productive mentoring relationships between young people and social work students. The reversal of the power dynamic between student and service user contributed to the unsettling of assumptions about each other and empathy for each other's role. The student authors reflect on learning about the child's experience that has influenced their practice. The mentor authors welcomed the opportunity to participate in the development of ‘young people friendly’ social workers. Suggestions are made as to how this model could be developed to contribute to a more systematic approach to the role of service users in mentoring, advising and contributing to the supervision process of students and social workers.