Child welfare in the 21st Century

Social workers, child welfare professionals, and the public face major challenges in the 21st century. This article examines the responsibilities of all three groups as they each seek to address the needs of at-risk children and their families. Nothing places greater moral and economic demands on all three groups than the urgent need to reduce poverty in our society, especially among families with children. Making a professional commitment to an all-out assault on poverty is seen as necessary if the public and their elected representatives are ever to do so.     

面向21世纪的中埃关系

冷战结束后,中国和埃及的友好关系得到全面发展,两国间的友谊愈益巩固.政治关系的发展有力地促进了双边经贸合作的发展,使埃及成为我国在中东和北非地区的贸易重点国家.我国在埃及的承包工程和劳务合作重新取得突破,对埃及的经济技术援助发展顺利.在这世纪之交,在深厚的传统友谊的基础上,在两国政府和人民的推动下,中埃关系必将得到进一步的全面发展.     

Policy challenges for child welfare in the new century

Recent changes in public policy reflect increased efforts to scapegoat poor women and children and to polarize the objectives of child protection and family preservation. This article challenges various stakeholders in the child welfare field to move beyond the quick-fix solutions and bureaucratic overregulation precipitated by horror stories of child abuse in the media. The new century presents an opportunity to pursue differential intervention strategies that protect children while empowering poor families and communities.     

Methamphetamine and the changing face of child welfare: practice principles for child welfare workers

Methamphetamine use and production is changing child welfare practice. Methamphetamine is a significant public health threat (National Institute of Justice, 1999) reaching epidemic proportions (Anglin, Burke, Perrochet, Stamper, & Dawud-Nouris, 2000). The manufacturing of methamphetamine is a serious problem for the child welfare system, yet child welfare has not addressed the needs of children living in homes where methamphetamine is manufactured (U.S. Department of Justice, 2002; DOJ, 2003; Altshuler, 2005). This article presents key issues for child welfare workers related to the use, production, and effects of methamphetamine on children and families, and identifies practice principles for child welfare workers in order to ensure safety for victims, parents, and workers themselves.     

The aging male in the 21st century

Background.?Prostate cancer incidence varies significantly among different ethnic groups. However, the report concerning the clinical outcome after radical prostatectomy (RP) in the low incidence Asian population is still limited. We aimed to compare the clinical outcome in patient treated with RP among different ethnic groups and to identify significant prognostic factors in Taiwanese patients.

Methods.?A total of 341 patients with clinical localized prostate cancer undergoing curative RP in three medical centers in Taiwan were included in this study. Ethnic group comparison was performed using the CaPSURE, SEARCH databases from United States (US) and one large European series. The Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard model were used to identify significant predictors for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence.

Results.?Compared to the Caucasian white population in the US and Europe studies, the Taiwanese population have higher age at surgery and higher pre-operative PSA level. With mean and median follow-up of 39.1 months and 31.0 months (range 5–120 months), 127 men (37.2%) had PSA recurrence which was significant higher than the Western series. Significant predictors for PSA recurrence identified in the post-operative overall model were PSA level, pathological Gleason Score, pathological tumor stage and lymph node metastasis.

Conclusions.?The clinical outcome of Taiwanese male with prostate cancer post-RP appears inferior to the Western country, which is largely due to delay surgery at higher PSA level. Earlier diagnosis and treatment may improve the cancer control of RP.     

21世纪天津的城市交通

一、新世纪、新目标、新蓝图跨入新世纪前夕，中央对天津城市定位为：“天津是环渤海地区的经济中心，要努力建设成为现代化港口城市和我国北方重要的经济中心。”为适应经济社会的新发展，新的规划布局为双心一轴大格局。一个心是以外环线（含绿化带）围合３７１平方公里中心城区，包括一是以陈塘庄铁路支线、昆仑路、红旗路、真理道、普济河道围合的９３平方公里，以商贸、金融、办公、教育、科研、体育、居住为主的城市功能区（中心区）；二是中心区与外环线间的２４１平方公里区域，包括９个工业区、２０余个居住区和居住小区；三是外环…     

Mental health and aging in the 21st century

This article reviews pressing issues in mental health care for older adults in the 21st century. After examining current forces for change in older adults' mental health care and coverage, the authors discuss barriers to accessing mental health care resulting from the fragmentation of the United States health care system as well as the history behind the multiple and competing systems of care for older adults. The article continues with a discussion of goals for the provision of good mental health service delivery for older adults and concludes by addressing potential responses and future target areas regarding mental health care for older adults as well as a potential realistic collaboration to address mental health and aging.     

Building a landscape of resilience after workplace violence in public child welfare

Workplace violence in public child welfare is prevalent, however, little guidance is provided to support child welfare leaders in moving their organizations through organizational trauma when violence strikes. This paper aims to provide the field with a resource that will (a) provide a brief overview on the prevalence of workplace violence in child welfare, (b) describe prevention strategies, (c) suggest a framework for responding to violence and (d) apply this framework to a recent event in public child welfare. Implications for policy and practice guidance are included.     

The sociology of intellectuals in the 20th and 21st century

Sociologists have treated intellectuals and their ideas for a long time as mere products of external social structures. Recently, however, researchers shifted their focus to cultural explanations, appreciating more fully the role cultural structures play in shaping their biographical trajectories and success. At the same time, I argue that these theories do not fully integrate the insight of performance theories and focus usually on textual self‐presentation of intellectuals. Although such an approach is valuable, I propose that sociologists should pay attention also to the processes of meaning‐making that make up intellectual appeal on stage. In the second part of the paper, I argue that the sociology of intellectuals has been for too long obsessed with questions of success and prestige, and I propose that sociologists should shift their attention to the underappreciated and marginalised among intellectuals.     

Partnering with the 21st century workplace: leveraging workplace ecology

The 'accessible' job market of the 1990's has given way to a challenging job market in a climate of economic uncertainty in the early Twenty-First Century. For vocational rehabilitation professionals this change requires the strategic use of workplace supports to increase the value and sustainability of work performed by people with disabilities in competitive jobs. An analytical framework for leveraging the natural supports of the workplace is provided by the workplace ecology as a bounded environment in which relationships between workers and supervisors promote learning and enhanced performance. The dynamics of the workplace ecology are explored with particular reference to workers with disabilities receiving supported employment services. Recommendations are made for leveraging the workplace ecology to the benefit of the supported worker. Implications for supported employment services in the new millennium are discussed.     

为21世纪构筑一个崭新的TOD理念

作为新城市主义的一句响亮口号,以公交为导向的城市发展模式Transit O riented D evelopm ent,简称TO D理念已经提出很多年了,但为什么至今没有在世界范围内流行起来,这其中有一个最主要的原因,就是这一理念的提出缺乏一个为大家所公认的前提——TO D究竟能够达到什么样的目的?从北美国家有关文献的报道来看,许多项目听起来是成功的,但由于至今还没有建立起一整套有关TO D的评价准则,因此一直还无法全方位地描述由TO D所产生的协同优势和效益。为了更好地理解TO D概念中的深刻内涵,我们不妨来分析一下公共交通与城市发展之间的关系…     

Flexible employment: Positive work strategies for the 21st century

V. Conclusion The United States has thus far wisely rejected the European path of low jobs growth and high unemployment and has instead embraced flexibility. Moreover, attention is starting to be paid to the need for change in the laws affecting the workplace to accommodate and promote this new flexibility. The “jobs clearinghouse” role of temporary help and staffing firms is one of the most salutary developments in the labor market in this century and should be encouraged. Not only is there no need for laws to regulate or limit temporary work, consideration should be given to providingincentives to firms that provide those services, such as tax credits based on the skills training provided and the job placements made. This would help promote a vigorous and efficient private sector job service that has become increasingly essential to American workers’ ability to find the right job at the right time in an increasingly complex and mobile work force.