China’s Changing Family Structure and Adolescent Development

This paper examines the relationship between family structure and junior high school students’ educational and psychosocial development and its intermediate mechanisms. Our findings show, firstly, that family structure affects children’s development, and children living with both parents have better educational and psychosocial development than those without one or both parents. Secondly, family structure affects children’s development to some extent through the two mechanisms of family socioeconomic status and parental participation in education. Thirdly, fathers and mothers play different roles in children’s development. Mothers are more important to children’s educational development, while fathers are more important to their psychosocial development. In addition, the distribution of family structure shows marked group heterogeneity, and families lacking both parents tend to be groups with a lower socioeconomic status. Since adolescent development is closely related to the acquisition of socioeconomic status in adulthood, the negative impact of parental absence on children’s development should not be neglected by academics and policy researchers.     

Chinese American Family Caregivers’ Perception of Program Use and Caregiver Stress

Caregiver programs provide specialized services and resources to reduce caregiver stress and improve family quality of life and health. Although there are resources and community services available, Chinese American family caregivers’ perceptions on caregiver programs and how specific services help to viably reduce their stress has yet to be examined. An in-depth interview was conducted with four Chinese American family caregivers in exploring their caregiving experiences and program service use; two of the caregivers were spouses and two were adult children. Content analysis revealed that their value of familial piety, and their need to ameliorate caregiver stress fueled their interest in new interventions to improve their quality of life and health. Spousal caregivers and adult children caregivers disclosed different needs due to caregiving, and adult children caregivers were less resistant to new interventions. The results of this study fill the knowledge gap on Chinese American family caregivers’ perception of caregiving in a cultural context as well as their needs. Suggestions for future research are to better understand the effectiveness of the specific services within caregiver programs that are effective in reducing caregiver stress among Chinese American family caregivers.     

Family Group Conferences: User Empowerment or Family Self-Reliance?--a development from Lupton

Correspondence to Shirley Jackson, Department of Social Work Studies, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. Summary This article isa response to Lupton (1998). It is not in thetradition of a critical response, but rather a complementaryand extended exploration of the issues raised in the earlierpaper. It draws on the authors' respective experiences as innovatorand researcher in the field of child welfare and youth justiceand presents, within the overall debate, new material both fromchild welfare initiatives and from the recently completed studyinto the use of family group conferences in youth justice. Itconcludes that some of the key tenets of family group conferencesare in danger of being neglected by professional and politicalagendas if urgent attention is not given to the primary purposeof family empowerment and to adequate resourcing of FGC plans.     

Statewide Implementation of “Reducing Disability in Alzheimer’s Disease”: Impact on Family Caregiver Outcomes

There have been few replications of efficacious evidence-based programs for dementia caregivers offered in community settings. This study highlights the replication of the evidence-based Reducing Disability in Alzheimer’s Disease program and explores the changes in outcomes for participating caregivers and whether those changes are related to level of program utilization. With data from 219 caregivers, regression results indicate that more exercise sessions are associated with a decrease in caregiver strain and more behavior management sessions are associated with a decrease in unmet needs after 3 months. Findings demonstrate how a multicomponent program can have positive benefits for family caregivers.     

Korean American Dementia Family Caregivers’ Experience of a Psychoeducational Support Group: Investigation of Role of Culture

Seven Korean American dementia family caregivers participated in a psychoeducational group. A focus group was conducted to explore the effectiveness of the group work model. Analysis of the focus group presented four themes: (1) importance of education about dementia, (2) social support from other Korean caregivers, (3) role of language and Korean culture, and (4) heterogeneity of caregivers' needs. Implications for social work practice, policy, and research are provided.     

What Do We Know about the Family?

Over the years we have spoken and written a great deal about universal pedagogical education, about the search for new forms and methods for educators to work with families, and we have been drawing inferences from a variety of sometimes brilliant and interesting experience. But can we claim today that the school has accomplished much in the way of pedagogical enlightenment of parents, or exerting influence on the family? It would take a great deal of boldness to do so. What is wrong here? Isn't it a fact that, while attempting to influence the family, we fundamentally know nothing about it—except, perhaps, whether it is a "drinking" family or a sober one? Yet statistics make very clear that more and more offenses are being committed by adolescents who come from families that are considered well off. Hence, this well-being must be illusory, and it is essential that we study the family more comprehensively and in depth, that we figure out what is important to teach parents. Considerable help in this regard can be provided by special studies that are being carried out at the Institute of Sociological Research, USSR Academy of Sciences. In this article we acquaint readers with this research.     

Family Relations and the Adjustment of Young Children of Mexican Descent: Do Family Cultural Values Moderate These Associations?

This study examined the role of family cultural values as moderators of the association between family relations and the adjustment of young children. Fifty‐five families of Mexican descent with young children enrolled in Head Start programs in the Southwest participated. Mothers provided information about closeness of the mother–child relationship, warmth in the sibling relationship, child behavior problems, and familism and simpatía, or two cultural values associated with families of Mexican origin. The children's preschool teachers provided information about child emotional adjustment and social functioning with peers six months later. Familism was found to act as a moderator, whereby warmth and closeness in family relationships coupled with the endorsement of a family cultural value that complements these relationship characteristics was associated with more optimal functioning in preschool classrooms. Results demonstrate the need to evaluate family cultural values or beliefs systems in conjunction with qualities of family relationships as determinants of children's developmental outcomes. Specifically, familism emerged as a family characteristic capable of promoting young children's adjustment within and beyond the family context.     

The Falsification of Li Hongzhang''''s Letters to His Family

FamilyLettersofFourPersonagesoftheQingDynastywasprintedbytheGuangyiPressin1936,andincludedinACollectionofMaterialsonModernChineseHistory.ThebookcontainsninetylettersbyLiHongzhang,whichalsoappearedinaseparateeditionunderthetitleLiHongzhangchidu(LettersofLiHongzhang)duringtheRepublicanPeriod.Basedonacarefulstudyoftheseletters,theauthorhasreachedtheconclusionthatalltheseninetylettersarecompletelyspurious.I.LetterstoLi'sParentsandAuntTherecipientsofLi'sletterscanbedividedintothreegroups…     

Support in the Workplace: Buffering the Deleterious Effects of Work–Family Conflict on Child Welfare Workers’ Well-Being and Job Burnout

ABSTRACT

We examined the impact of work–family conflict (WFC) on worker well-being and job burnout, as well as the role of social support in the workplace as a potential buffer against the influence of WFC. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses in a cross-sectional sample of 361 public child welfare workers indicate that WFC was related to reduced well-being and increased job burnout, whereas supervisory support moderated the relationship between WFC and well-being. Findings from this study hold implications to workforce management practices aimed at improving worker well-being in human service and child welfare organizations. Human resource management policies designed to manage worker schedules should aim to facilitate workers’ ability to meet work and family demands through programs such as flexible work schedules and telecommuting. Recommendations for future research on WFC and worker well-being are discussed.     

No Basic Contradiction Exists Between a Market Economy and Ownership by the Whole People

Somescholarsbelievethatamarketeconomyandownershipbythewholepeoplearenotcompatible.Idisagree.HereIwouldliketodiscuss,fromamethodologicalperspective,myunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweenamarketeconomyandownershipbythewholepeople.1.Instudyingtherelationshipsbetweenamarketeconomyandownershipbythewholepeople,oneshouldbothemancipatethemindandadheretothespiritofseekingtruthfromfacts.Thereisnowatendencytonotfullyemancipatethemindandnotexactlyseektruthfromfacts.Forexample,somebelievethatownershipist…     

Changes in Family Income Patterns in LargeChinese Cities Since the Reform

In1993,sociologistsfromtheInstituteofSociologyoftheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,theSociologyDepartmentofPekingUniversity,andotherorganizationsconductedasurveyoffamiliesinthesevencitiesofBeijing,Shanghai,Nanjing,Chengdu,Guangzhou,Lanzhou,andHarbin.TheincomepatternsofurbanfamiliesfOrmedanimportantpartofthissurvey,andthedataobtainedfromthesurveywillbeexaminedinthefollowingarticle.I.TheMethodologyUsedintheSurveyThetargetsofthissurveyweremarriedwomenandtheirlivinghusbands.Forthesevenciti…     

Research on Marriage and the Family in China Since the 1980s

Numerousin-depthandwide-rangingstudieshavebeenconductedinChinasincethe1980sintheareaofmarriageandthefamily.Thisessaywillpresentabriefsummaryofthisresearch.Ⅰ.ProjectsandPublications"ASurveyofFamiliesinSevenCities,"whichfollowed"ASurveyofFiveCities,"wascarriedoutjointlybytheInstituteofSociology,CASS,andtheSociologyDepartmentofBeijingUniversity,inclosecollaborationwithlocalsocialresearchgroups.Thesurveywasconductedin1994inBeijing,Shanghai,Guangzhou,Nanjing,Chengdu,LanzhouandHarbin.5,6…     

Pascal’s and Tabarrok’s Wagers

In a recent paper A. Tabarrok [Believe in Pascal’s Wager? Have I Got a Deal for You!, Theory and Decision 48, 123--128, 2000] argued that a believer who accepts Pascal’s Wager should in addition accept payment of any given fee in return for a given increase in the probability of reaching God. However the conclusion is obtained from manipulations of infinities which are not valid in an expected utility model. In this note, an alternative model is formulated in which Tabarrok’s conclusion can be obtained.     

The Jesus Family Movement(1921-1952):AChristian Utopiain China

1927年至1952年间以山东泰安马庄为中心的耶稣家庭,受当地五旬节派教会神召会活动的影响,将宗教与世俗生活结合起来,并声称按圣经中耶稣的教导,在团体中废除私产和血缘家庭,组织信徒在“共产式”的大家庭中共同劳动,过平均主义的集体生活,走上了建设基督徒理想社会的乌托邦道路。虽然在严酷的岁月中这个团体得以维持和发展,但终因其内在矛盾和社会变化而解体,在实践中充分展示了乌托邦道路的魅力与局限。     

The Life Cycle of the Family and the Law Governing Cyclical Fluctuations in the Family Economy—An Empirical Study Based Mainly on Information Related to China''''s National Minorities

Ｉ.Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ　　Ｉｎｉｔｓｓｉｘｔｈｉｓｓｕｅｏｆ 1 996ＳｏｃｉａｌＳｃｉｅｎｃｅｓｉｎＣｈｉｎａｐｕｂｌｉｓｈｅｄａｐａｐｅｒｂｙＬｉＳｈｉａｎｄＢ .Ｇｕｓｔａｆｓｓｏｎｔｉｔｌｅｄ“ＡｎＥｓｔｉｍａｔｅｏｆｔｈｅＥｘｔｅｎｔａｎｄＳｃａｌｅｏｆＰｏｖｅｒｔｙｄｕｒｉｎｇｔｈｅＬａｔｅ 1 980ｓｉｎＣｈｉｎａ .”Ｂａｓｅｄｏｎｄａｔａｏｂｔａｉｎｅｄｆｒｏｍａｎｉｎｖｅｓｔｉｇａｔｉｏｎｏｆｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔｓ’ｉｎｃｏｍｅｓｃｏｎｄｕｃｔｅｄｂｙａ ｐｒｏｊｅｃｔｇｒｏｕｐｉｎ 1 9…     

When ‘political demand’ meets ‘video-politics’

ABSTRACT

The emergence of a ‘macro-personification of politics’ within the political field of Aotearoa New Zealand alters the manner by which political demand needs to now operate if it is to succeed as a form of tactical strategy in political activism. A particular analytical initiative is identified as being central to success under these conditions, whereby given political demands enlarge from a ‘state of singularity’ to become ‘complex discursive demands’. Key to that initiative is the ‘dialectic of appearances’ and the ‘labour of the negative’ associated with the ideas-work of Hegel. This article identifies how this dynamic was playing out within a key event in the anti-surveillance movement of 2013, the August public rally in the Auckland Town Hall.     

Preventing Domestic Violence in the South Asian Context: Men's or Family Involvement?

Globally there is a growing tendency to involve men in preventing domestic violence. Since men are the main perpetrators of violence against women, proponents of men's involvement argue that men must be involved to prevent men's violence against women. Conversely, opponents of men's involvement argue that involving men would not bring about the expected outcome, since men's involvement is challenging, particularly in the cultural context, and men intentionally perpetrate violence against women. In this paper, an attempt has been made to critically justify the suitability of men's involvement and to find a more culturally acceptable alternative for preventing domestic violence against women in South Asia. This article critically discusses theories related to the sociocultural understanding of domestic violence, insightfully presents domestic violence in this regional perspective, argues the pros and cons of men's involvement, and proposes family involvement as a culturally suitable approach to prevent domestic violence.