Qualitative exploration of supporting figures in the lives of emerging adults who left care compared with their noncare‐leaving peers

Studies on youth leaving care have emphasized their limited social support and their need for continuing support after emancipation. However, less is known about the nature of their existing social networks after emancipation and their roles during their transition to adulthood compared with their noncare‐leaving peers. With this in mind, 32 young adults aged 18 to 25 participated in semi‐structured interviews regarding their current support figures in order to learn whether they were congruent with their needs after emancipation. Thematic analysis revealed four main features of the two groups' social networks: (a) stability versus uncertainty as to the lasting presence of the supportive figure, (b) reliance on parents as main supportive figures versus relying on different supportive figures, (c) confidence versus uncertainty in the supportive figures' ability to help, and (d) holistic versus fragmented support of the young adults' needs. The discussion addresses the unique characteristics of care leavers in emerging adulthood and the implications of their social networks' features for their adjustment after emancipation. One of the study's recommendations is to proactively connect them to new supportive figures such as professionals or mentors by offering them mentoring programs cognizant of the instrumental and developmental tasks of emerging adulthood.     

A SIMPLE SEQUENTIAL WILCOXON TEST

A simple sequential non-parametric test for the two-sample problem is proposed. A method of deriving its O.C. and A.S.N. funtions is given, and their adequacy confirmed by simulation. The test is found to require about 10 percent more observations than an optimal rank test; however it is much easier to apply. The test is found to be relatively robust.     

Left behind: How to encourage biological parents' involvement in their children's group homes

This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of involving biological parents in group homes in Israel and presents various means to encourage their involvement in care. Using family systems theories and the concept of co‐parenting, it analyses the fragile and complex relationship caseworkers and foster parents have with biological parents. The paper presents four components that might play a role in encouraging parental involvement to benefit their children's adjustment. The components are demonstrated through case studies and include assessing the family profile; addressing the family's needs within the child's intervention plan; training biological and foster parents; and building co‐parenting between biological and foster parents.     

A conceptual framework for understanding the outsourcing decision

Outsourcing is an increasingly important initiative being pursued by corporations in North America and Europe in pursuit of improved efficiency. This paper provides a conceptual framework to assist managers in identifying and implementing outsourcing decisions. In particular, the framework suggests a way for managers to identify the pre- and post-contractual risks associated with outsourcing decisions along with strategies that can be implemented in the pre-contractual stage in order to mitigate those risks. Empirical findings from the ‘transactions cost' literature are referenced to illustrate elements of our conceptual framework.     

Metachoice for strategic analysis

A necessary precursor to strategic choice is the selection of a strategic choice evaluation method — metachoice. Unfortunately, managers are unlikely to find much guidance on how to conduct metachoice analysis in the strategy literature. In light of this problem, a template is presented based on two questions that must be addressed by those engaged in strategic analysis generally and metachoice specifically: (1) what are the organization's strategic goals? (2) how willing are they to monetize their predictions and valuations? Four resulting choice methods are presented and discussed: Discounted Cash Flow Analysis (including variants based on real options), Profitability Analysis, Modified Discounted Cash Flow Analysis and Multi-Goal Analysis.     

Players and arenas: strategic interactionism in social movements studies

This ‘Authors Meet Critics’ symposium focuses on two books edited by Jan Willem Duyvendak and James M. Jasper, Players and Arenas: The Interactive Dynamics of Protest and Breaking Down the State: Protestors Engaged. Both books make bold attempts to develop and apply a strategic interactionist perspective in social movement studies by focusing on the interplay of micro and macro processes and decision-making in a range of protest movements. Critical interventions from Aidan McGarry, Robert J. Davidson and Guya Accornero raise a number of questions relating to the core arguments of the books, the key findings and the conceptual advances. Duyvendak and Jasper then address these challenges by drawing attention more acutely to the role of agency in social movements and highlighting significant critiques of the current state of the art in social movement scholarship.