Competing Orientations in Child Abuse Management

Summary This case study illustrates some of the problems which occurwhen different professionals are involved in the managementof child abuse cases.     

Social Policy and the Prevention of Suicidal Behaviour

Summary This paper is an attempt to answer the following questions.Can we, and should we, try to prevent suicidal behaviour; howsuccessful are the efforts at suicide prevention of lay andmedical agencies; and what social policies could be employedto prevent suicidal behaviour?     

Statistical Considerations in Social Work Research

Correspondence to David Goda, School of Computing and Information Technology, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1SB. Summary Guidelines are presented in an attempt to assist those consideringsubmitting to this Journal papers containing quantitative data.     

The Social Environment--A Model for Exploring Service Interventions with Mentally Handicapped Adults

Summary Using a model derived from systems theory, the needs of mentallyhandicapped adults are examined. Interventions are generatedwhich have implications for social workers in implementing normalizationprinciples.     

Literature and the Therapeutic Imagination

Summary The therapeutic imagination is closely related to the literaryimagination and is concerned with similar issues of the relationshipof the self to society. The study of literature needs to bean integral part of social work education if workers are tobe helped to confront the dilemmas faced by the social worksensibility.     

Social Workers' Orientations: an Action Perspective

Summary The established sociological approach to social workers' orientationshas led to a restricted picture of the day-to-day conduct ofsocial workers. Adopting a different perspective, the work discussedhere resulted in an ideal typology of eight orientations. Thearticle describes these types and refers briefly to some propositionsand conclusions that arise.     

Developmental Correlates of Family Size: A Report from the National Child Development Study

Summary This paper presents findings from tbe National Child DevelopmentStudy which examine the relationship between size of familyand school attainment, adjustment and height at the age of eleven.This relationship is shown to be a strong one, and alternativeexplanations for its existence are considered     

Literature Review: An Abuse of some Substance?

Summary The intention in this review is to examine a small selectionof the literature on substance abuse and to assess to what extentit is a new phenomenon and a problem calling for legislativeaction. This intention accounts for the slightly capriciouschoice of title for the contribution.     

Social Workers Talking to Clients: A Study of Verbal Behaviour

Summary Twenty-four interviews between trained social workers and theirclients were recorded and compared with the findings of a studyof how doctors talk to their patients. The social workers' techniqueswere found to be much more elaborate and much less obvious thanthose used by the doctors.     

A Problem for Law and Social Work: Social Enquiry Reports on People Pleading Not Guilty

Summary This paper examines the background to pre-trial enquiries, theirpreparation and some of the problems involved, with particularreference to not guilty pleas. It is based on a dissertationpresented for the Diploma in Social and Administrative Studiesin 1972 and a more detailed version is available     

Opiate Dependent Women and Their Babies: A Study of the Multidisciplinary Work of a Hospital and a Local Authority

Correspondence to Patricia Kearney, 11 Wickham Gardens, London SE4 1LY. Summary The study examines a multi-disciplinary approach to the treatmentof opiate dependent pregnant women and their babies, with particularregard to statutory child protection responsibilities. It reviewsthirteen births with a follow up period of three years.     

The Place of Knowledge in Social Work Activity

Summary This study considers whether a small sample of social workerswas using theoretical knowledge as a basis for activities inpractice. The findings indicate that the use of this type ofknowledge was minimal. They also bring to light a number ofquestions related to the development of knowledge for use insocial work practice.     

A Winter's Tale

Summary ‘My father named me Autolycus; who being as I am litteredunder Mercury was likewise a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles...’ (Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale).     

Working with Sex Offenders: A Social Skills Training Group

Summary The paper presents an account of a group of sex offenders ina local prison. Nine sessions of social skills training weregiven with the aim of facilitating relationships within theprison and possibly after release.     

An Interactionist View of the Social Work Interview

Summary The paper considers the relevance of the five sub-branches ofthe interactionist perspective to the social work interviewand suggests a model incorporating all five. Such a model illustrateshow conflict between the social worker and the client may ariseand the author tentatively suggests how such conflict may beresolved     

Using a Unitary Approach in Student Placements

Summary This paper is an attempt to think through the use of a unitaryapproach in the supervision of students, in particular withinstudent units. It considers separately the beginning phase ofany placement, first and second placements and develops theconcept of a team model by which to run the unit.     

The Samaritan Concept of Befriending

Summary This paper considers the view that the Samaritan concept ofbefriending constitutes a debasement of our traditional notionof friendship. An analysis of the main features of friendshipis attempted and this analysis is then used as a framework forassessing the nature of befriending     

Reception Centres: an Index of Social Service Inadequacy

Summary This article examines reception centres, evaluates the adversecriticism there has been of them and suggests that it has divertedattention from the more important issue that the continued existenceand changed role of reception centres indicates the inadequacyof other health and social services     

Letters from a Kangaroo: A Third Object Technique for Working with the Young Child

Summary The author looks at the use of letter writing as a third objecttechnique and considers its value in working with under fives.She also touches on early language development in the pre-schoolchild and the relevance of the theory for social workers.