An examination of the locus of desired control among young‐old and old‐old nursing home patients (1)

This research examined the locus of desired control among a sample of 218 nursing home residents. Two issues were addressed: (a) What is the predictive impact on locus of desired control of education, gender, race, functional ability, subjective health and length of stay among the residents in each of the two age groups? and (b) Was there a difference in the locus of desired control among the young‐old (74 years or less) and old‐old residents (75 years or more)? A discriminant analysis revealed that among the 95 young‐old residents, greater desire for control, internality, was associated with poorer functional abilities, poorer subjective health and longer lengths of stay. Among the 123 old‐old residents, greater desire for control was assciated only with poorer functional abilities and poorer subjective health. Further, a significantly greater proportion of old‐old residents had greater locus of desired control, 59 percent, in comparison to only 43 percent of the young‐old residents who expressed greater locus of desired control.     

Partial Answers to Priority Research Questions—and Gaps—Found in the Public Relations Society of America's Body of Knowledge

The Body of Knowledge (BOK: Public Relations Society of America, 1988, 1990, 1993) of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and other literature were used to examine priority research questions generated in a series of Delphi surveys conducted over the past 10 years. The Delphi surveys involved dozens of scholars and senior practitioners who identified priority re- search questions in the field of public relations for the 1980s and 1990s. We perused PRSA's BOK and other literature to see which aspects of the top 18 research questions for the 1990s have been answered completely or partially, to highlight gaps in this body of knowledge, and to point out opportunities for future research. Noted at the end of each partial answer to the research questions are BOK references and search terms that can be used in an electronic search of the BOK data base.     

Deconstructing the Greek-Cypriot new national curriculum: to what extent are disabled children considered in the ‘humane and democratic school’ of Cyprus?

The present paper contextualizes the recent process of development of the New National Curriculum (NNC) for use in Greek-Cypriot public schools. Using content analysis, it pays particular attention to the degree to which the language, performance expectations, and suggested materials described in the NNC take account of disabled children. Notwithstanding the human rights and anti-discrimination rhetoric that surrounds the process of creating an inclusive NNC, the findings presented herein suggest that the curriculum falls short of addressing the rights of disabled children in inclusive education. On the basis of this finding, the paper discusses the dangers inherent in implementing the proposed NNC in its current form.     

A configurational approach to transnational families: Who and where is one's family in the case of mobile older adults?

This article introduces a novel transnational family configuration (TNFC) approach to study the diversity of family forms across kinship and geographical boundaries. Integrating theoretical insights from family sociology and transnational family research, it examines contemporary families as personal networks that encompass both subjectively identified and potentially transnationally dispersed kin and non-kin members. Drawing on original survey data and in-depth interviews with adults aged 55+ living in Switzerland, it compares migrants’ and non-migrants’ personal family networks. The results indicate that these networks are both diverse and transnational. Although there is a strong correlation between transnationality and migration background, other life-course factors also contribute to the development of transnational family networks beyond the scope of migrant ‘exceptionalism’. By advocating the adoption of a TNFC approach to the study of contemporary families, in diverse population groups and various cultural contexts, this study paves the way for future research in this area.     

Social work and Nordic welfare policies for children—present challenges in the light of the past1

The aim of this article is to explore welfare policies for children in five Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden—and in that context identify what kinds of issues and challenges social work is currently facing. The data reviewed consist of policy documents, law texts, official reports, statistics, professional texts, and previous research. Policies and laws on children's protection; provisions, including policies on state benefits and care for children; and the autonomous integrity of children in terms of the norms and policies concerning their participation, in particular in public everyday life, are analysed from a historical perspective. Hence, future challenges for social work are analysed in light of the past. Our conclusion is that social workers have a unique opportunity, based on their close encounters with children as clients, to work for the realisation of children's rights. Furthermore, by applying a holistic perspective to issues of childhood and parenthood, social workers can contribute to the development of knowledge on how welfare systems can meet the challenges brought about by the new ideas of children's rights, social changes, globalisation, and the new ideological concepts of risk that have arisen in child welfare.

Artikkeli tarkastelee lasten hyvinvointipolitiikan kehitystä viidessä Pohjoismaassa—Tanskassa, Suomessa, Islannissa, Norjassa ja Ruotsissa—ja sen valossa sitä millaisia kysymyksiä ja haasteita tämän päivän lasten hyvinvoinnin parissa tehtävä sosiaalityö kohtaa. Artikkelissa on käytetty aineistona erilaisia politiikkadokumentteja, lakeja, julkisia raportteja,tilastoja, professionaalisia kirjoituksia sekä aiempaa tutkimusta. Artikkelissa analysoidaan historiallisesta näkökulmasta lastensuojelun, sosiaalipalvelujen, lapsille suunnattujen sosiaalisten tukien sekä lasten osallistumista koskevia normeja ja toimintapolitiikkaa. Sosiaalityön tulevaisuushaasteita analysoidaan menneisyyden valossa. Johtopäätöksemme on, että sosiaalityöntekijöillä on ainutlaatuinen mahdollisuus, joka perustuu heidän läheisiin työskentelysuhteisiinsa vaikeissa elämäntilanteissa olevien lasten kanssa, olla lasten oikeuksien todellisia toimeenpanijoita. Lisäksi lapsuuden ja vanhemmuuden näkökulmat yhdistävästä toimintapaikastaan käsin juuri sosiaalityöntekijät voivat vaikuttaa tutkimukseen ja kehittämiseen niin, että hyvinvointipalvelut ja –etuudet kohtaisivat nykyistä joustavammin lasten oikeuksien, yleisen yhteiskuntamuutoksen, globalisaation ja kovin ideologisena pitämämme riskiajattelun haasteet.     

La metafora: the power of metaphors and creative resources in working systemically with families and children with autism—a conversation with Carmine Saccu

Metaphors are valuable tools of expression, which give meaning to situations and allow the spontaneous processing of feelings and emotions. As therapists, we can support clients to develop and create their individual metaphor to explain their own meaning of experiences or communicate their perception of problems. Creativity provides us with a rich landscape to explore, expand, and enrich ourselves as therapists and consequently our clients. As systemic therapists, we are responsible for the co-creation of a human process, which has at its core safety in allowing expression, connection, and movement. Through a respectful and curious approach, we can develop pathways to tap organically into our ‘creative selves’ while reaching into our clients' creativity and selves as catalysts for connection and positive change. Creative resources and therapies have been successfully used in psychotherapy to enhance the mental and emotional well-being of children, particularly children with autism who have limited verbal capacity or who are non-verbal. These children also wish to be understood in expressing their thoughts and feelings; however, they use other methods of communication – sometimes obvious, sometimes not. Therefore, it is important that a therapist can access diverse ways to support the child through this process. The creative use of animals in therapy neutralises spaces, eliciting calm, safety, and healing. This is particularly the case when working with this group of children. This paper is derived from my conversation with an elder statesman of the family therapy profession, Professor Carmine Saccu. He is a jovial master storyteller who craftfully communicates via metaphors. Through creative means, play, and humour, he has developed a remarkably unique way of working with children, especially non-verbal children with autism. He uses his canine, co-therapist Mafalda, as a powerful resource and intervention strategy to safely elicit engagement and connection in the therapeutic space.     

Treatment and Prevention of Elder Abuse and Neglect: Where Knowledge and Practice Meet—A Model for Intervention to Prevent and Treat Elder Abuse in Israel

Successful handling of elder abuse and neglect requires various interventions. This article presents findings from an evaluation study of a model for intervention implemented in three municipalities in Israel. Data from 558 older adults, exposed to abuse and treated through the program, and interviews with victims, abusers, and professionals revealed that improvement was achieved in 66% of the cases. In 20% of the cases, the abuse was stopped. The most widespread type of intervention consisted of individual counseling. Legal intervention yielded the highest rate of improvement (82%). Provision of supportive services for victims of neglect was found to be most effective (82% of improvement in the situation).     

Some obstacles to the effective investigation and registration of children at risk—issues gleaned from a worker's perspective

Abstract

This paper describes a woman who is both damaged and damaging. The mental disorder/disturbance felt by this woman generates levels of anxiety that she cannot contain, and this anxiety is passed onto the others who constitute her community. For community care to work it must be possible within the community system to identify, think about and manage the anxieties generated by such mental disturbance. The new legislation of community care may encourage us to ignore the reality of mental illness and issues of power, conflict and pain, and their underlying anxieties. Current examples are given of the acute anxieties felt by many workers in the field which, if uncontained, lead to defensive anti-task strategies. When disturbance is projected and disowned it is put out of mind and may then be passed between parts of the system. Even though it may no longer be possible, except as a short term measure, to put the mentally ill out of sight in mental hospitals, the mental disturbance and those in whom it is located may still be marginalised. The paper proposes a model of community care which encompasses mental illness, professional workers and the community. These three elements are seen as the corners of a triangular space which theoretically becomes the container of mentally disturbing anxieties and within which these anxieties can be addressed, thought about and managed

It is argued that this model could enable workers to foresee some difficulties and to address others in a manner that would lead to greater containment and more effective management of mental illness in the community     

Fo(u)nts of etymology: abstraction and the absolute in Derrida’s 'Faith and Knowledge…'

The political philosopher Hannah Arendt actively engaged in the problem of a Jewish homeland and the politics of Zionism in the years 1941–1948. She advocated a Binational solution to Palestine – a single political commonwealth with two national identities, Jewish and Arab, integrated in a federation with other countries in the region. In the crucial period leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel, Arendt became increasingly disillusioned with the Jewish Agency and the Zionist movement for failing to organize a Jewish response to Nazism (a Jewish Army) and rejecting the Palestinian right to a homeland.     

Adaptation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Children’s Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire (CKAQ-RIII) in Greek Elementary School Children

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study was to culturally adapt and validate the Children’s Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire-RIII (CKAQ-RIII), a tool that examines children’s understanding of sexual abuse concepts, for use in Greek elementary schools. A sample of 467 Greek school children between the ages of 6–9 was recruited from a private school. The CKAQ-RIII was administrated three times, before and immediately after a Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) prevention intervention program, as well as during a one-year follow-up evaluation. A subsample of the original population (N = 113) completed the one year follow up administration of CKAQ-RIII, along with the Body Awareness (BA) and the Emotional Differentiation (ED) subscales of the Emotion Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ). Internal consistency was high for the inappropriate touch scale (ITS) of the CKAQ-RIII and moderate for the appropriate touch subscale (ATS). Inter-item analysis showed that the majority of items were in an acceptable range. Pearson correlation coefficients analyses revealed strong associations between the two subscales of ITS and ATS, and the overall scores of the questionnaire. A mixed-subjects analysis of variance on the ITS showed an increase in knowledge post intervention, with third graders (8–9 year olds) generally scoring higher at baseline and demonstrating greater knowledge gains post intervention. A mixed-subjects analysis of variance was also conducted for the ATS where no significant increase in knowledge was found. Furthermore, analysis revealed a good concurrent criterion validity with good levels of agreement between CKAQ-RIII and ED, whereas no relationship was established between CKAQ-RIII and BA.     

ERGOBERÇO® (Ergonomics Crib)--evaluation of the prototype for a adaptation to safety's variables and comfort

The crib is the infantile furniture more mentioned in infantile accidents. In spite of the existence of several models, many of them are not appropriate to their users and considered insecure. The objective of this study was to structure the prototype of ERGOBER?O?, considering technical norms and evaluation in loco of the prototype through structured interview answered by the participants of the research. The prototype was evaluated as safer, resistant and comfortable than the crib used by the mothers and participant users of the study. The aspects with larger acceptance index were the movable grating and the compact base, defined for the users as facilitators of the use and attribute of safety of the prototype. Even the prototype having been very appraised and accept for the users, it will be necessary to restructure the prototype so that the same can still be adapted more the users' needs, being, besides insurance and comfortable, with compatible aesthetic pattern with the expectation of these.     

Partially shared objects and the (Elusive) potential of expansive learning: the case of “jury” in community-based citizenship classes for Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugee elders

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on community-based citizenship classes for Bhutanese refugee elders held in central Ohio. As part of a larger longitudinal study centered in the ethnographic and discourse analytic traditions, the article analyzes a classroom moment where the notion of a “jury” is briefly taken up and discussed. This moment is put into dialogue with relevant data from student interviews and teacher playback sessions using cultural-historical activity theory as an analytical framework to argue that the understanding of a “jury” is a “partially shared object” that reveals asymmetrical power relations between activity systems, with implications for expansive learning opportunities.     

Lemonade for Life—A pilot study on a hope-infused,trauma-informed approach to help families understand their past and focus on the future

The Adverse Childhood Experiences' (ACEs) research provided groundbreaking evidence that events that occur early in life can impede core life capabilities and lead to significant negative social, behavioral, and physical outcomes. While the research is widely known, the translation and application for use with families has been lacking. In response to this gap, Lemonade for Life was developed to help professionals who work directly with families understand how to use the ACEs research as a tool to build hope and resilience. A developmental evaluation was conducted to learn about how Lemonade for Life participants integrate ACEs in their work with families, as well as whether and how the Lemonade for Life training and materials influenced their work. Focus group and survey data were collected from 24 home visitors and parent educators and parent educators, who participated in a Lemonade for Life training. Findings indicate that Lemonade for Life may be a useful tool for translating ACEs research into practice with families. Participants perceived that following the integration of what they learned through Lemonade for Life into their work, the families they served were more engaged in services and better able to understand their past experiences and current life circumstances. Results suggest a continued need to assess and focus on the hope and mindset of professionals who work directly with families to optimize opportunities for change.     

‘Just kids playing sport (in a chair)’: experiences of children,families and stakeholders attending a wheelchair sports club

Children who use wheelchairs have few opportunities to play sport with their able-bodied peers and siblings. This appreciative, qualitative study explored the experiences of children, families and stakeholders at a wheelchair sports club. Participant observation, research activities, focus groups and interviews were used. Sixty-three people participated (37 children, 14 stakeholders, 10 parents, two older siblings). Thematic analysis identified one unifying theme (realising potential) and four main themes: invisibility of disability; ambivalence and attraction of the chair; fun and fellowship; and thrills and skills. The Cheetahs created opportunities for meaningful participation in wheelchair sports for children with and without disabilities.     

Looking for a Grandview: introducing concepts of robust sampling to policymakers and practitioners engaged in measuring the well‐being of children at the local authority level

Local authorities are increasingly required to measure and monitor the well‐being of children. One key aspect of ensuring that these data on child well‐being are robust is that they form an accurate and representative picture of that child population. Rather than being only the purview of researchers, the act of gathering outcome data now falls within the remit of policymakers and practitioners. This article therefore describes the principles and importance of solid sampling methodologies to this audience and also considers the practical reasons as to why policymakers and practitioners may require larger samples than may be necessary for a representative picture of child well‐being. These ideas are illustrated by one local authority in the UK’s approach to measuring child well‐being, using representative sampling techniques and the subsequent expansion of this sample. The consequences of expanding the sample size are illustrated by examining the impact upon key findings related to child well‐being. The potential benefits and limitations of larger samples are discussed, as are some practical solutions to the apparent impasse.     

Covert social movement networks and the secrecy-efficiency trade off: The case of the UK suffragettes (1906–1914)

This paper formulates and empirically tests a number of hypotheses regarding the impact of covertness upon network structure. Specifically, hypotheses are deduced from theoretical arguments regarding a ‘secrecy-efficiency trade off’ which is said to shape covert networks. The paper draws upon data concerning the UK suffragettes. It is taken from a publicly archived UK Home Office document listing 1992 court appearances (for suffrage related activities), involving 1214 individuals and 394 court sessions, between 1906 and 1914. Network structure at earlier phases of suffragette activism, when the movement was less covert, is compared with that during the final phase, when it was more covert and meets the definitional criteria of what we call a ‘covert social movement network’ (CSMN). Support for the various hypotheses tested is variable but the key claims derived from the idea of the secrecy-efficiency trade off are supported. Specifically, the suffragettes’ network becomes less dense and less degree centralised as it becomes more covert.     

Exploring the Organisational Collage of Memetic Paradigms for (a) Change — A Research Note

Exploring organisations is the prerequisite for any intentional attempt to strategic change. Yet, what is it that we observe when we observe organisations? The argument chooses a narrative approach to exploring organisations. With Niklas Luhmann we look at the operations of organising which makes the organisation an organisation. The paper suggests the organisational collage (I.) of stories as a starting point of the exploration. The specific focus is on meaning-creation and sense-making as the genuine act of organisational self-observation. The disciplinary matrix (II.) reflects on how stories and narratives crystallise and rule the organisation in a paradigmatic way. Along Thomas Kuhn's understanding of paradigms (III.) management is referenced as an activity of a community of practice based on a disciplinary matrix of models, methods and instruments. Giorgio Agamben's conceptualisation of paradigms as reference giving examples allows the opening up of the implicit side of organisational culture. Memetics (V.) approaching reference giving examples as memes and culture as a meme-complex enable the observation of dynamics and cultural evolution over time. Concluding we come to understand the organisational implications (V.) of the conservative nature of organisational development and the systemic sensitivity that allows for management, learning and change. And as always, advances in research come at the price of new questions.     

Development of the Carers’ Alert Thermometer for Young Carers (CAT-YC) to Identify and Screen the Support Needs of Young Carers: A Mixed Method Consensus Study

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - This paper reports on a multi-phased, mixed-method consensus-based study conducted with young carers in the UK aged 11–18, and health, social care...