National certification for child and youth workers: Does it make a difference?

This article examines the impact of professional certification on worker performance as well as the incremental validity of key facets of the national child and youth care practitioner certification (e.g., education, years of experience, certification exam, and professional portfolio) sponsored by the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice and administered by the Child and Youth Care Certification Board. Findings reveal that certified practitioners receive higher performance ratings from their supervisors than non-certified practitioners. Education, experience level, certification exam result (pass/fail), and successful completion of the application packet including a professional portfolio were all significant predictors of performance (as reported by supervisors). Each component progressively accounts for additional variance in the performance criterion. Certified practitioners are 2.7 times more likely to be high performers than non-certified practitioners after accounting for the effect of race, gender, education, experience and certification exam result.     

Utilitarianism or welfarism: does it make a difference?

We show that it is possible to reconcile the utilitarian and welfarist principles under the requirement of unanimity provided that the set of profiles over which the consensus is attained is rich enough. More precisely, we identify a closedness condition which, if satisfied by a class of n-tuples of utility functions, guarantees that the rankings of social states induced by utilitarian and welfarist unanimities over that class are identical. We illustrate the importance of the result for the measurement of unidimensional as well as multidimensional inequalities from a dominance point of view.     

Does it make a difference? Evaluation of a Canadian poverty reduction initiative

Program evaluation is an important aspect of any organization. The ability to reflect on past performance and plan for the future is essential to an organization’s health and future growth. This exploratory study is part of a larger program evaluation initiative that examined the efficacy of a regionally based organization that provided funding to community groups to alleviate poverty. The purpose of the study was to explore testimonials provided by participants of the organization’s funded programs, to determine if the participants were satisfied with the programs and the extent to which participants’ perceptions are congruent with the goals of the organization. Content analysis was used to examine 3494 testimonials from 77 different agencies. Three overall themes were determined from the analysis: 1 Developing Social Networks, 2 Learning Comes in Various Forms, and 3 Developing Self-Efficacy. Findings from the testimonials suggest that the benefits of the programs are highly social and that connections with others are important, but also provide rich opportunities for learning new skills and knowledge, as well as gaining confidence and a sense of control. The findings from this analysis support one goal of the organization which is to engage people living in poverty in meaningful ways.     

Evaluating physician competency: What difference does it make?

There are a number of skills that professional experts believe physicians in training should learn in order to be labeled competent practitioners. The beliefs of the experts should be subjected to the rigors of scientific investigation. This paper presents a system for evaluating clinical competency which is designed to test the beliefs of the experts as well as the skills of the practitioner. Four measures of clinical competency are included: data collection completeness, problem identification accuracy, interview skills, patient and physician assessment. Preliminary results suggest a more careful re-examination of beliefs about the skills considered necessary and sufficient in determining clinical competency.     

The Secret of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse: Who Keeps It and How?

This article analyzes how women survivors of intrafamilial child sexual abuse perceive the family members who took part in keeping it secret and their tactics for doing so. Analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with Jewish Israeli women revealed unique ways of guarding the secret. These were attributed to the perpetrator, the mother and the family. Secret-keeping tactics included presenting a normative public identity or an unstable psychological identity, presenting multiple personas, reframing the abuse, concealing any trace of the secret after it was disclosed, as if the abuse had never happened, and making a monument of the abuser. These tactics are discussed in the context of silencing, the interpersonal relations orientation model, and the wider concepts of secrecy in society. Implications for professional practice and for society are considered, and new attitudes toward intrafamilial child sexual abuse secrecy are suggested.     

The Voice of the Child: A Legal Voice?

This article presents a legal analysis of the 'voice of the child' in family proceedings, both public and private. The evaluation is thus confined to civil law and is not concerned with young offenders within the criminal justice system. There have been significant legislative developments in the last decade arising from UK, European, and UN provisions. The article assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the rights to representation of children in these legal proceedings and in particular outlines the weaknesses in the proceedings of 'private' law about children. Making recommendations for future reform, the article argues that consistent implementation of the provisions requires greater attention to be paid to direct representation and advocacy for the child's views, in contrast to adult presentation of their own views about the best interests of the child.     

Child Abuse: The smothering of an issue—A British perspective

Although firmly established as a major social issue, child abuse still tends to be studied from too narrow a perspective in Britain. It is contended that the existence of a dominant persective for studying welfare issues (the Social Administration approach) has played an important part in ensuring that child abuse be equated solely with the ill-treatment of children within the home. Despite the fact that the “societal” abuse of children has been well documented, there have been few attempts to extend the boundaries of the child abuse debate. An effective challenge to the social administration approach to welfare is deemed necessary if a broader picture of child abuse in British society is to emerge.     

Does Having Children Moderate the Effect of Child Sexual Abuse on Depression?

Nearly 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys under the age of 18 will be the victim of child sexual abuse. As adults, these individuals are more likely to report myriad mental illnesses including depression. Testing the hypothesis that having children would moderate the depressive effects of child sexual abuse, the authors used public-use data of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave IV (n = 5,114; mean age = 29.00 years; SD = 1.78). Results indicate that having children significantly moderates the relationship between child sexual abuse and depression for females. Though the risk of depression is increased for all females with a child sexual abuse history, this increase is less dramatic for mothers. Two potential explanations of this effect are presented: biological and psychosocial. The possible implications for mental health professionals working with mothers with a child sexual abuse history include highlighting the role of their children as possible support.     

Knowledge and Behavioral Impact of Adult Participation in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Evaluation of the Protecting God’s Children Program

ABSTRACT

This article presents findings from an evaluation of a popular adult training program (Protecting God’s Children) used in Catholic institutions, including schools, churches, and social service agencies. The study explores knowledge and behavior change based on pretest/posttest questionnaires administered to over 500 adults and follow-up questionnaires sent six months after the training. The participants in the training were compared to a control group of adults who did not participate in the program. The results indicate that participants arrive at the training with fairly high rates of preexisting knowledge but that the program increases knowledge across demographic groups. Follow-up surveys suggest that the new knowledge is retained over six months. The study indicates that the program is associated with an increase in participants talking to their own children about child sexual abuse. Participants also report sharing information with other adults and monitoring behavior around children more closely.     

The Africa Commission Report: What About the Politics?

Book reviewed: Our Common Interest: The Report of the Africa Commission. By the Commission for Africa. London: Commission for Africa, 2005. 462pp. £10.00 pb. (forthcoming in June 2005 from Penguin Books Ltd, Our Common Interest: An Argument. 192pp. £5.00 pb.).     

Transcending the Nation-State?: The European Commission and the (Re)-Discovery of Europe

Abstract: This article examines the process of European integration from a cultural perspective. Taking up questions posed by social scientists and European Community (EC) officials concerning the possibility of transcending nation-state and nationalism in Europe, it explores the European Commission's attempts to do this, particularly through the EC's campaigns and initiatives for forging a sense of European identity and culture at the level of popular consciousness. Following Hobsbawn and Ranger, I argue that the history of EC cultural politics provides an interesting case study of invented traditions and manufactured heritage. The political implications and problems of using culture as a vehicle for nation-building at a pan-European level are analysed. The article concludes with a critical appraisal of the concept of European identity and questions whether the EC's project for constructing a post-nationalist political order in Europe is feasible or politically desirable.     

Parental visiting and family reunification: could inclusive practice make a difference?

This study examines whether inclusive practice, or parental involvement in foster children's lives while in placement, is correlated with more frequent visiting and a greater likelihood of reunification. This hypothesis was tested among a random sample of 230 twelve- and thirteen-year-olds placed in traditional family foster care. Results suggest that mothers who visit their child and are involved in case reviews and child care activities visit more frequently than mothers who visit in settings such as agency offices and have no other types of involvement. In addition, visiting frequency is highly predictive of reunification. These associations were not explained by maternal substance abuse, mental illness, or the child's placement history.     

Enhancing the Justice System's Response to Elder Abuse: Discussions and Recommendations of the “Improving Prosecution” Working Group of The National Policy Summit on Elder Abuse

ABSTRACT

Original analysis of data from the British national disability surveys is undertaken to throw light on the problem of elder abuse. The prevalence of behavioral problems among individuals living in private households in Great Britain in 1985 is described, and the ages and living arrangements of those with potentially aggressive behavior is examined. The data suggest that the potential for abuse arises in a variety of living arrangements. Tentative estimates are provided for the numbers of older people potentially at risk because they themselves have, or are living with someone who has, a disability that involves violent or aggressive behavior.     

What was Bitcoin,what will it be? The techno-economic imaginaries of a new money technology

In its first decade, Bitcoin has not proven to be a practical money form for most circumstances, but it has become a staging ground for debate around the cultural role of money in society. This debate is poised between two related but ultimately incompatible techno-economic imaginaries: infrastructural mutualism and digital metallism. Each offers a theory not just of money, but also of relations, identities, and the larger imaginaries we call ‘society’ and ‘the economy’. In particular, they offer distinct visions of what it means to be a ‘peer’ in a peer-to-peer money system, and perhaps, a peer-to-peer society. This article traces the pre-history of Bitcoin, as well as more recent developments, to inquire about its future, as well as the future of money more broadly.     

Eliciting Accounts of Alleged Child Sexual Abuse: How Do Children Report Touch?

Investigative interviewers frequently question alleged victims of child sexual abuse about any touching or bodily contact that might have occurred. In the present study of forensic interviews with 192 alleged sexual abuse victims, between 4 and 13 years of age, we examined the frequency with which alleged victims reported bodily contact as “touch” and the types of prompts associated with “touch” reports. Even young alleged victims of sexual abuse reported bodily contact as “touch,” and they used the word “touch” more frequently in response to recall than recognition prompts. Regardless of age, children typically referred to “touch” before interviewers used this term, suggesting that even young children are able to report “touch” without being cued by interviewers.     

Does higher education make a difference? The influence of educational attainment on women's and men's nonstandard employment outcomes

Some studies suggest that women and the less educated are more likely to be employed in nonstandard work. However, conflicting evidence has indicated that temporary, part-time, and nonstandard self-employment has diffused across different social groups and levels of education. Using pooled data from the 1997–2018 Canadian Labour Force Surveys, this study explores the changing relationship between higher education, gender, and employment outcomes. Taking a multiple logistic regression approach, this study accomplishes three objectives: (1) to examine the relationship between gender and education among different forms of nonstandard employment; (2) to investigate the changes of different forms of nonstandard employment between 1997 to 2018; (3) to analyze the association between men's and women's education and their likelihood of different forms of nonstandard employment are explored. The findings suggest the feminization of employment norms, in which men and women have had some convergence in certain types of nonstandard employment. This result holds across most levels of education, but is more pronounced for women and men with higher levels of education.