Occupational Aspirations,Gender, and Educational Attainment

While in the past women had lower educational attainment than men, women in recent years have caught up to and passed men in educational attainment. Lower occupational aspirations for women compared to men contributed to lower educational attainment in the past. In this article, we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to consider whether occupational aspirations still act to lower educational attainment for women compared to men or whether occupational aspirations are currently an advantage for young women. We find that occupational aspirations are an advantage for women for high school graduation but not for college graduation.     

The provision of education and opportunities for future employment for pregnant schoolgirls and schoolgirl mothers in the UK

This paper will report on the results of three recent surveys into educational provision for pregnant schoolgirls and schoolgirl mothers: these surveys have examined the position in England and Wales, and for the first time, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. As well as reporting what is currently available for young mothers in the UK, the paper will raise issues of entitlement to a full education for these young women, issues of equal opportunity and issues of access. It will seek to point to questions that need to be considered in terms of policy for young mothers and their children. The political debate in the UK has recently centred on the notion of these young women being a drain on the national purse. This paper will seek to address this notion, and will point to the need for access to credible courses leading to employment and childcare in order to increase the chances of these young women becoming taxpayers, and good parents.     

Recruiting,engaging, and educating social work leaders: an innovative curricular model

Graduate social work student interest in administration or management studies has been low in comparison to their interest in clinical practice. Recruiting graduate students to administration or management specializations in social work education remains a challenge for social work programs. Recognizing the need to attract and prepare MSW students for administration, various curriculum models have been proposed. This study presents a unique model that was designed specifically for social work students who wanted to become competent clinical practitioners, yet were also interested in macropractice. By marketing to, and recruiting, graduate students who have a passion for the dual (macro and micro) focus of social work, the administration specialization in this large, US-based urban graduate social work program has been able to attract over 120 additional students each year, comprising nearly 24% of the graduating class. This qualitative study examined students’ rationale for selecting this specialization, their experiences in the program and their suggestions for improvement. Implications for other graduate social work programs are highlighted.     

Three phase development of caring capacity in primary caregivers for relatives with Alzheimer's disease

Multiple, open-ended, qualitative interviews were conducted with 16 primary caregivers for relatives with Alzheimer's disease in order to describe caregiver self-development through the caregiving journey. Caregiver change is traced up to five years after the care recipient's death. Caregivers' capacity for caring was found to be at the core and to unfold in three phases: development of caring capacity for the care recipient, development of capacity for self-care, and development of caring capacity for others. The four elements of caring capacity (perception, motivation, competency, action) are expressed in relation to the care recipient, to the self, and to less familiar “others”. The caregiving experience tends also to prompt caregivers to become caregivers for humanity and to expand their sense of self. This may lead to the development of the altruistic self, which incorporates both a selfless concern for the welfare of others and a self-directed concern for one's own welfare.     

Talking about Blame

In this analysis particular emphasis is given to the question of blame in meaningful relationships, such as those occurring within families and between practitioners and their clients. The authors suggest there is a potential in these contexts for the subjective experience of being blamed to challenge, perhaps even disturb, an individual's sense of personhood and for interpersonal boundaries to therefore become de-regulated. A general implication for practice is then raised: if blame can be so powerful in its effects, practitioners may benefit from talking explicitly to their clients about blame in order to access intrapsychic and interactional material, for its relevance to the immediacy of the client's lived experience, for its ability to contribute to engagement, and perhaps most importantly, because feeling blamed and being blaming reduces the self-agency available to clients and hence potential for change.     

Critical factors in the design of a service delivery system for students-in-transition with severe disabilities

Although there has been tremendous growth in secondary school programs for students with severe disabilities, many of these students continue to “graduate” or “age out” without adequate preparation for community-integrated employment and increased independent living in the community. Competitive employment and independence will remain an illusion for many students with severe disabilities unless there is strong commitment by the public and private sectors to the development of post-secondary options and the establishment of effective processes to coordinate and integrate services and programs. The purpose of this article is to present some of the critical factors in the organization and delivery of services and programs for students-in-transition with severe to profound mental retardation. First, the extent of need for transition services and programs is briefly reviewed. Second, a framework for transition case management in Philadelphia is described. And last, three interrelated factors — communications, capability, and disposition — contributing to successful planned intervention are examined in relation to Philadelphia's initiative in establishing a service delivery system for students-in-transition with severe to profound mental retardation.     

Freud,Grafenberg, and the neglected vagina: Thoughts concerning an historical omission in sexology

Because similarity between partners has been thought to be related to relationship quality, this study assessed similarities between partners in 44 married, 35 heterosexual cohabiting, 50 gay, and 56 lesbian couples on demographic characteristics, appraisals of relationship quality, and factors predictive of relationship quality. With regard to demographic characteristics: Partners' age was correlated for each type of couple; partners' income, education, and job prestige were correlated only for heterosexual cohabiting couples; and gay partners had the largest discrepancies in age, income, and education. With regard to appraisals of relationship quality: Partners' scores were correlated for each type of couple on relationship satisfaction but for only gay and lesbian couples on love for partner; partners across all couples differed in their assessments of relationship quality. With regard to the predictors of relationship quality: Partner scores were correlated for each type of couple only on shared decision making; these predictor scores were most frequently correlated for lesbian partners; differences between partners were least for lesbian couples on attractions to the relationship and perceived family support and greatest for cohabiting couples on dyadic attachment. Relationship quality was not related to discrepancies between partners' demographic variables but was negatively related to discrepancies in partners' dyadic attachment. In conclusion, partner homogamy was most pervasive in lesbian couples, and for all couples homogamy on dyadic attachment was related to relationship quality.     

Preparation for Contact: An Aid to Effective Social Work Intervention

This article proposes that a pre‐contact phase of work which helps prepare the worker/social work student for face‐to‐face intervention is a prerequisite for effective practice. It builds on the original work by Douglas and McColgan in which preparation for contact was placed in the context of the Diploma in Social Work Competence requirements. In this revised article links are made to the new degree in social work while retaining the framework which provides for examination of essential knowledge, skills and values which underpin effective preparation for a social work encounter. The article discusses the Preparation for Contact exercise and explores its value as a learning tool for social work students, its usefulness as an assessment tool for university tutors and agency practice teachers in relation to testing the student's ‘readiness’ for contact and its place in providing practice learning evidence in relation to requirements of the degree in social work.     

Smoking risk factors and gender differences among Spanish high school students

The objectives of the present study were to analyze the pattern of tobacco use among Spanish adolescents, as well as to determine gender differences in specific risk factors of cigarette use. The study sample was made up of 1,483 boys and 1,358 girls, aged 12-16 (M = 14). Participants were asked to answer an ad-hoc instrument to evaluate the pattern of use, perceived availability, risk of harm, family- and peer-use, engagement in leisure activities, drive for thinness, and self-esteem. Results showed no gender differences in the pattern of use. With regard to risk and protector factors, a predictive analysis showed that peer-related variables were the most determinant for tobacco use both for boys and girls. Some gender differences were also detected: Playing sports was protective for boys only, and listening to music for girls only. Drive for thinness and self-esteem were not related to tobacco use for either boys or girls. These findings help increase our understanding of smoking risk factors in adolescence and to pay special attention to the group of friends when planning prevention programs to reduce risk factors.     

Possibilities for change toward universal design: Japanese housing policy for seniors at the crossroads

Japanese government policies for seniors have long assumed that informal care by their families exists for them. The rapid aging of Japan is eroding the basis for this assumption. It is now necessary to include barrier-free design concepts in the basic requirements for dwellings to be used by everyone, not just seniors, to support independent living. Essential requirements in proposed guidelines are already in effect in the design and construction of publicly operated rental housing. But at this time, only the schemes of the Housing Loan Corporation of Japan for additional loans are being used, in cases where some design requirements for senior users are being met. The Housing Loan Corporation's loan system has long been seen as a policy on the part of government to boost the economy, particularly during recessions, but assistance for construction of higher quality dwellings has been lacking. This article discusses the basic philosophy of design guidelines and practical ideas to be considered in dwelling design and the merit of model dwellings constructed by housing manufacturers in Japan. It also discusses potential strategies to implement the basic ideas of design guidelines. It then proposes some possible methods to realize life-span dwellings, or dwellings designed for everybody.     

Professional and youth perspectives on higher education-focused interventions for youth transitioning from foster care

Youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood access and succeed in college at much lower rates than the general population. A variety of services exist to support youth with their postsecondary goals, but few if any have evidence for their effectiveness. As part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded intervention development project to design Fostering Higher Education, a structured, testable postsecondary access and retention intervention for youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood, focus groups were conducted with community stakeholders to collect recommendations for how to most effectively structure the intervention. Analyses of focus group findings resulted in four theme groups: (1) general recommendations for intervention development; (2) recommendations for an educational advocacy intervention component; (3) recommendations for a mentoring intervention component; and (4) recommendations for a substance abuse prevention intervention component. These themes offered a variety of important insights for developing interventions in a way that is usable for youth and feasible for communities to implement.     

The effect of strikes on shareholder returns

Relationships between labor disputes and shareholder wealth are examined through analysis of 91 strikes between 1951 and 1973. Stock market reactions to strikes of different durations are analyzed through a market model methodology. Different market adjustments are found for short, intermediate, and long duration strikes. Shareholder returns prior to strikes are below market returns for firms in the short strike category, approximately equal to the market returns for firms in the short strike category, approximately equal to the market for firms in the intermediate strike duration category, and above the market for firms in the long strike category. After strikes, shareholder returns decline for firms in the short and long strike duration categories.     

‘Politics is social work with power’: training social workers for elected office

Training social workers for leadership roles in electoral campaigns and political offices increases the profession’s effectiveness in promoting public policy that reflects our professional values and commitment to social justice. This research describes and evaluates an educational experience in the US that prepares social work practitioners and students to run for elected office; to work in leadership positions at the local, state, and federal levels; and serve as effective advocates for social change. Participants’ plans for future political engagement before and after the training were compared. Following the training, participants are more likely to plan to be politically active in general. Their intentions to work on campaigns, run for office, and engage with elected officials increased. These results can inform education in other social work settings.     

Development and implementation of online training modules on abuse,neglect, and exploitation

Online training for care managers to identify, report, and prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation was developed for a demonstration involving the dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid population. It was composed of three modules covering background, screening, and reporting abuse. Of 453 enrollees, 273 completed at least one module and 212 completed all three. Pre- and post-training surveys for each module were used to examine changes in the proportion of correct answers for each question, using the related-samples Cochran’s Q statistic. Improvements in knowledge from pre- to post-training were evident in modules covering background on abuse and reporting abuse, but not in the module about communication principles and screening for abuse. Its content may have already been familiar to the trainees, who were primarily social workers and nurses. Lessons learned are being used to adapt the training for a wider audience to increase public awareness of abuse.     

Lost in Translation: Language,Terminology, and Understanding of Penile–Anal Intercourse in an HIV Prevention Trial in South Africa,Uganda, and Zimbabwe

Despite efforts to use culturally appropriate, understandable terms for sexual behavior in HIV prevention trials, the way in which participants interpret questions is underinvestigated and not well understood. We present findings from qualitative interviews with 88 women in South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe who had previously participated in an HIV prevention trial. Findings suggested that participants may have misinterpreted questions pertaining to penile–anal intercourse (PAI) to refer to vaginal sex from behind and subsequently misreported the behavior. Three key issues emerge from these findings: first, the underreporting of socially stigmatized sexual behaviors due to social desirability bias; second, the inaccurate reporting of sexual behaviors due to miscomprehension of research terms; and third, the ambiguity in vernacular terms for sexual behavior and lack of acceptable terms for PAI in some languages. These findings highlight methodological challenges around developing clear and unambiguous definitions for sexual behaviors, with implications not only for clinical trials but also for clinical practice and sexual risk assessment. We discuss the challenges in collecting accurate and reliable data on heterosexual PAI in Africa and make recommendations for improved data collection on sensitive behaviors.     

The development of preferences for specific body shapes

Research with adults has shown a preference for average-weight female figures with waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) of 0.7, and average weight male figures with waist-to-hip ratios of 0.9. This study investigated the development of preferences for WHR sizes as well as preferences for specific body weights. Five-hundred eleven children ranging in age from 6 to 17 were presented with drawings of 12 male and 12 female silhouettes varying in weight and WHR and asked to select one they thought looked the nicest or most attractive. The youngest children showed preferences for the underweight figures, changing to consistent preferences for the average weight figures in the teenage years. The developmental curves for waist-to-hip ratio preferences were linear, changing gradually over time to become more adult-like. Potential developmental models for the development of preferences for specific body shapes are considered in relation to these data.     

How Far to Gay? The Politics of HIV in Learning Disability

This paper examines work in sexual health and HIV prevention in services for people with learning disabilities from a political stance associated with the rehomosexualisation of AIDS in Britain. Arguments are made for the re-homosexualisation of AIDS in services for people with learning disabilities, based on evidence of where HIV risk lies in relation to men with learning disabilities who have sex with men. This provides an opportunity to critically review approaches and responses to HIV risk assessment and risk management in services for people with learning disabilities, with reference to the assumptions which underpin practice and issues of sexual identity. The case is made for a more radical sexual politics in learning disability to help combat HIV and to provide more realistic approaches to service commissioning and safer sex education. Pointers for service development and key areas where the re-homosexualisation of AIDS can inform practice and resource development are also provided.