'It's More of a Production': accomplishing mothering using a mobility device

This qualitative study investigated the conditions and experiences of mothers who used wheelchairs and scooters for full-time mobility. In focused, open-ended interviews, 11 mothers of children aged 6 months to 18 years described sociospatial obstacles and facilitators that influenced how they cared for their children and homes. Results suggest that mothering with a disability consists of embodied and emplaced practices. Women often felt 'out of place' as mothers given the relationship between mothering discourse and mobility devices. Furthermore, the embeddedness of mothering in place meant that the social and material conditions of place served not only as antecedents to mothering challenges, but also structured possible solutions     

Dog team walking: inter-corporeal identities,blindness and reciprocal guiding

As part of a broader sensory ethnographic exploration of place perception amongst international students who have recently arrived in Manchester (England), I conducted walking interviews with Abbie, who is from Barcelona and has a visual impairment. My work with Abbie and her dog-guide, Labrador Toni, offered me the opportunity to explore the development of emplaced knowledge as embodied, multi-sensory practice. As we walked as a three-in-one corporeal entity we operated as an inter-subjective being, challenging individualizing constructions of the self. During our interviews the importance of inter-corporeal space, the spaces between us, in facilitating our abilities to guide and follow each other was realized. For me as a researcher, this collaboration also afforded a re-prioritization of sensory awareness that feeds into a critique of ocular-centric approaches to research.     

Psychosocial Differences in Post-Institutionalized,Internationally Adopted Children and Other Groups of Children Referred for Clinical Services

Thousands of children are adopted into the United States each year, many of whom have spent a significant portion of their pre adoptive lives in an institutional setting. Post-institutionalized (PI) children adopted into the United States are often referred for mental health services at higher rates than other groups of children. There is a lack of research examining differences in clinically referred PI children and other groups. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in knowledge. Results from multiple analysis of covariance and follow-up pairwise contrast analyses found significant differences only between PI and domestic adoptees (DA). Specifically, DA exhibited poorer functioning in the areas of attention problems and social problems. Mean scores were above the 85th percentile for all indicators for all groups, indicating the severity of psychosocial problems for the sampled group of clinical referrals. More research is needed that compares the psychosocial problems of PI children to other adopted youth.     

Repartnering: the relevance of parenthood and gender to cohabitation and remarriage among the formerly married

This paper is an exploratory analysis of the impact of current and anticipated parenthood on cohabitation and remarriage among those formerly living in marriage-type relationships. The focus on children is embedded within a broader analysis of repartnering which takes account of other factors, including gender. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are used, with a multivariate analysis of repartnering patterns, using data from the General Household Survey, being complemented by in-depth interview data examining the attitudes of the formerly married to future relationships. The paper demonstrates that parenthood has a statistically significant effect on the likelihood of formerly married women repartnering, with a higher number of children being associated with a lower probability of repartnering. The presence of children can work against repartnering in a variety of ways. Children place demands on their parents and can deter or object to potential partners. Parents may see their parental role as more important than, and a barrier to, new relationships. However, mothers are typically looking for partners for themselves rather than fathers for their children. Among formerly married people without children, the desire to become a parent encourages repartnering. The paper concludes that parenthood should be a key consideration in analyses of repartnering.     

The effectiveness of a home-based ergonomics intervention on the proper use of computers by middle school children

A study was conducted in the homes of middle school children (average age = 12.7 years, SD = 0.52 years) to determine if an educational intervention would increase both the children's and their parents' knowledge of ergonomically correct setup of a computer workstation and computer use. Six children and their parents (n = 6) participated in this study. The study consisted of two data collection sessions over a two-week period. Results suggest a significant (p < 0.05) increase in knowledge of computer use and workstation setup for both parents and children, however, no significant changes in posture were noted between sessions. It was concluded that education is an effective method to increase knowledge of ergonomics in both middle school children and their parents but more research is indicated to understand the linkage between ergonomic understanding and durable accomodations.     

Spatial Syntagma and Identity of a Place: Sensing,Relating to,and Knowing a Place

Place is a complex and multi-dimensional system capable of embracing different uses, interpretations, and even various definitions. As a notion, place is composed of a series of narratives, characteristics, relations, and socio-spatial values that altogether can be regarded as the spatial syntagma of a place. The livelihood of a place is much dependent on its interrelated socio-spatiality, whereby people are not only part of a place but are mutually related to it; to shaping its happenings and forming its identities. In this study, the major focus is toward understanding place and people's environmental knowledge of place. Through this theoretical approach, this article aims to explore the concept of spatial syntagma on the basis of three major aspects of “sensing a place,” “relating to place,” and “knowing a place.” Moreover, this study aims to emphasize the notion of a place as a socio-behavioral network (or system) and verify characteristics, qualities, and the spirituality of a place.     

A window on the wider world? Rural children's use of information and communication technologies

The possibilities which information and communication technologies (ICT) offer people (or groups) to overcome the friction of distance and the constraints of materiality mean that these technologies are seen to have particular relevance in rural areas which have been historically characterised in terms of their economic and social perpheriality. In this paper, we draw on empirical research with children and their teachers and parents, to explore the opportunities which ICT are seen to offer young people living in rural areas. First, we examine the information that children access on-line and how young people make sense of this expanded terrain. Second we focus on communication, by considering children's use of email and chat rooms. Third, we explore how this information and these modes of communication may be shaping young people's sense of place in the world. Our findings expose a clear contrast between the ambitious and future orientated ways in which adults imagine ICT will expand their children's educational and employment opportunities, and social and spatial horizons, and the everyday ways in which these technologies actually emerge for children in practice.     

Public relations and place branding: Friend,foe or just ignored? A systematic review

Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within the marketing discipline. However, in practice, place branding shares many commonalities with public relations. It involves relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, reputation management, and communication campaigns that involve no direct sale of a product. While some have noted the parallels between place branding and public relations, the intersection of these two fields has not been reviewed empirically. This study examines the relationship between public relations and place branding by exploring how scholars in each field have conceptualised and represented the other in their research publications. A systematic review of 378 journal articles, published from 1988 to 2018 in 18 selected journals from both fields, was conducted. This research shows that while there is a significant conceptual crossover between the two fields and they work together in practice, the place branding literature largely treats public relations as a promotional tactic rather than a disciplinary body of knowledge. Conversely, outside of public diplomacy research, public relations has shown little interest in places and place communication, and there is limited research applying public relations theories and concepts to places. This paper adds to current knowledge on the interdisciplinarity of public relations theories and concepts and how public relations is perceived outside its own field and suggests new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on place communication.     

‘James always hangs out here’: making space for place in studying masculinities at school

All learning is emplaced. It happens somewhere and it involves material things. It is located and situated. This paper focuses on spaces and places outside of the classroom where lessons about ‘self’ and ‘other’ are learnt. Drawing on recent research (‘Space, place and the making of masculinities in primary schools in Ireland’, O Donoghue, Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 2006, volume 3), the paper analyses the stories/narratives of a group of ten and eleven year old boys, stories that tell of how they learn to speak, act and perform masculinities in school spaces and places. These performances, ‘naturalized’ through repetition and regulation, happen in spaces that exert significant effects on boys by opening up/closing off certain behavioural possibilities. The paper makes visible processes of doing and re/presenting research into masculinities and schooling in, with and through art. It argues that a research approach drawing on theories and processes of contemporary art practice offers much for conceptualizing, doing and representing research and provides opportunities that other research methods close off.     

Peer connections as an intervention with children of families where a parent has a mental illness: Moving towards an understanding of the processes of change

Prevention and early intervention programmes have been found to impede the transmission of mental illness from parents to children. However, the extant processes of change in such programmes are less clear. This study focuses on the impact of a peer support programme developed for children and adolescents who have a parent with a mental illness and examines the processes of change which might promote positive outcomes for youth. A mixed methods research approach was employed with participants aged between 8 and 12 years old; 69 completed pre- and post-questionnaires and 18 of these same participants engaged in telephone interviews post programme. Results demonstrate improved mental health knowledge and children reported that they were more likely to use an anonymous telephone helpline after attending the programme. Children indicated that the programme provided a place of respite from caring for their parent with a mental illness, an opportunity to connect with peers, and a positive change in perception of their parent's mental illness. The reported findings are moving towards an understanding of the process of change in programmes.     

Child maltreatment dynamics among immigrant and U.S. born Latino children: Findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW)

Latino children are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States, and the proportion of child maltreatment victims who are of Latino ethnicity has been growing since 2000. However, our knowledge of the characteristics, maltreatment patterns, and risk factors associated with maltreatment among immigrant and U.S. born Latino children and their families has been incomplete. The goals of this study are to establish the national prevalence of immigrant and U.S. born Latino children who come to the attention of child welfare systems in the United States; to expand our knowledge regarding the role of nativity in child maltreatment patterns among Latinos; and to determine if disparities in child maltreatment patterns and risks exist among Latino families using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. Despite considerable risks, data indicate that immigrant Latino children are slightly underrepresented among children who present to child welfare systems when compared to the general population. Moreover, no significant differences were observed between immigrant children and U.S. born children with regard to substantiation patterns. However, significant differences emerged between the two groups in risk factors and maltreatment type, warranting further investigation.     

Migrant Children,Social Capital and Access to Services Post‐Migration: Transitions,Negotiations and Complex Agencies

For migrant children, moving to a new country is marked by excitement, anxiety and practical challenges in managing this significant transition. This paper draws upon the concepts of social capital and social networks to examine migrant children's access to services post‐migration. Using data from a qualitative study with Eastern European families in Scotland, we identify a range of cumulative barriers that limit children's access to services and illustrate how their experiences are shaped by ethnicity, social class and place. The study shows that migrant children are often disadvantaged post‐migration and develop their own mechanisms to mitigate the impact of migration on their lives. We argue that migrant children's own social networks are relevant and they need to be analysed through a more individualised approach.     

From Congo: newspaper photographs,public images and personal memories

Photographs of labouring children are common, but their capacity to provide unique sources of evidence of the working lives of children remains neglected. Studies of children's work and labour tend to relegate the value of still photographic images to a place on the front cover of books or perhaps to the occasional in‐text illustration. As this paper argues, the potential of still photography does not stop here. By drawing on a qualitative research project exploring the work of children in England and Wales, this paper argues that research employing photo‐diary techniques can add much to our knowledge and understanding of children's working lives.     

School-based,blacklight handwashing program can improve handwashing quality and knowledge among pre-school aged children

In the United States, lack of proper handwashing is associated with respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses. Interventions to improve handwashing practices have led to an increase in handwashing knowledge and behavior, and decreases in gastrointestinal illnesses. Most studies have evaluated their interventions in the context of reported handwashing rates by observation, reduction of illnesses, as well as reduced absences, however none of these studies examined handwashing quality or knowledge as outcome measures. The objective of this paper is to present the results from a handwashing program with a special focus on the evaluation methods.A pre-post design was used to evaluate a handwashing program that took place in two pre-schools the northeast of the United States. The program utilized a black light technology to demonstrate to children the importance of good quality. The evaluation consisted of assessing knowledge and quality of handwashing using a linear puzzle and individual handwashing observation, respectively.Students from both schools improved on both knowledge and quality over time (p-values 0.071 and <0.001, respectively). The present study demonstrates that the use of black light technology as an educational tool may help to improve handwashing quality among pre-school aged children, even after only one instructional session.     

Five Star Teacher: In-Service on the Move

Teachers learned knowledge, skills, values, and dispositions through spending significant amounts of time working with heritage sites as they learned more about social studies. Elementary social studies teachers engaged in teacher in-service to increase their abilities to meet geography standards. Teacher professional development that caused instructors to engage with cultural and historic sites benefited them and should be considered as well as other models of teacher in-service. Teachers used study travel opportunities to engage in geographic investigation and exploration to accomplish inquiry. Teachers determined that extended time was required to experience the place, to value it, and to harbor the disposition to teach about it; they learned in-depth content from spending time on-site, and they learned skills to extract knowledge from site through reading the landscape. Teachers encountered multiple perspectives, technology, and controversial issues through their studies of regions in the Ohio River Valley. Teachers of elementary social studies may wish to consider this type of professional development to understand a sense of place and how it relates to the curriculum they teach.     

Parental Discussion of Child Sexual Abuse: Is It Associated with the Parenting Practices of Involvement,Monitoring, and General Communication?

We investigated whether parents who reported more positive parenting practices (i.e., monitoring, involvement, and communication) reported more discussion of child sexual abuse (CSA) with their children. Parents from Australia and the UK (N = 248), with children aged 6 to 11 years, completed an online survey. About half of parents reported directly discussing CSA, whereas 35% reported telling their children that CSA perpetrators may be family members. Rates of discussion were higher for other CSA-related topics such as body integrity and abduction. Correlational analyses showed that parents who reported speaking to their children about CSA also reported more positive parenting practices, more discussion of other sensitive topics, and assessed CSA risk for children (in general) to be higher. Discussion of CSA risk was not associated with parents' CSA knowledge, confidence or appraisal of own-child risk. Parents higher in positive parenting believed their children to be at less CSA risk. Parents who appraised higher own-child risk reported less positive parenting practices and were less confident about their parenting and their ability to protect their children from CSA. The findings are the first to report on the associations of parenting practices with parents' CSA discussion with their children.     

Children’s Strategies for Agency in Preschool

This article is based on an ethnographic study of children’s everyday life in Swedish preschools. The ethnography is used to explore children’s strategies for influencing, defending and constructing the social order of a preschool institution. The focus of our concern is on how the children, in their interactions with each other and with the preschool teachers, manage the collective regulation and how they negotiate their participation in collective activities. There is an inherent tension between free play and the high degree of routinised and collective activities within the preschool institution. The study shows that children are active in playing at the border, acting as if the institution is the children’s place. It also shows how they draw on different strategies as resources for managing the regulations, accounting for personal autonomy and negotiating the social order. In taking a child perspective and acknowledging children as active agents, it is possible to see how they influence and shape their everyday life in a preschool context. In addition, the article illustrates individual children’s strategic and pragmatic use of resources and in doing so contribute to their own childhood and thereby become part of a social and cultural construction process.     

Comparing family,friends and satisfaction with school experience as predictors of SWB in children who have and have not made the transition to middle school in different countries

Transition to middle school periods is especially vulnerable stages in which children need external support to facilitate their adaptation to middle education. In this regard, this study aims at observing how the social supports “family” and “friends” influence SWB before and after the transition to middle school. This is conducted taking into account the mediating effect of satisfaction with school experience in a stage where significant changes occur in the school setting. To this end, different countries that have in common a transition to middle school period taking place between 10 and 12 years old are selected. Two structural models were conducted, one for 10-year-old children and other for 12-year-old children. Both samples included 8923 participants from 4 countries (Chile, South Korea, USA and Algeria). The mean age of participants was 11.20 years (SD = 1.12).The overall analysis of the results from the two models indicates that support agents (family and friends) are significant to SBW before and after the transition to middle school period. In concrete, friend support is more important than family support to 10 and 12-year-old children. Nevertheless, satisfaction with school experience behaves as a mediator between friend support, family support and SWB, and has the greatest effect on SWB at both ages. Finally, differences observed in the invariance analysis across different countries are discussed.     

Why more ‘quality time’ is not on the top of children's lists: the ‘qualities of time’ for children1

For many years the everyday reality of working parents and their children has been captured in notions of ‘quality time’ versus ‘quantity time’. On the one hand it is suggested that what families need is ‘more time’ for parents to spend together with their children and less time working. On the other hand this has been countered with arguments saying that attention has to be paid to how parents spend their time together with their children. As a result quality time is often presented through idealised images of ‘happy families’. Quality time is seen as parents engaging with their children in particular activities or outdoor excursions that create and maintain family enjoyment, care and togetherness. However, such debates are based on assumptions of what would be ‘good’ for today's children and neglect the perspective of children themselves. This paper draws on field research carried out with 10–11‐year‐old children on their understandings and use of time in an urban and a rural setting in the north of England. The paper points to five ‘qualities of time’ identified by children. These qualities suggest that children's views of time spent with their families cannot be seen as separate from the time they spend with friends, at school and on their own. The paper argues that the quality/quantity time conundrum needs replacing by fuller and more representative accounts of the varied aspects of time that matter for children. These need to be situated in the processes through which family, school and work life take place on a daily basis and in relation to children's life course. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘Public toilets for a diverse neighborhood’: Spatial purification practices in community development discourse

This paper explores the dialectic of place and community identity in Mount Pleasant, a multi–ethnic and multi–class U.S. neighborhood where definitions of place are hotly contested among its residents. In a grant proposal for public toilets, Mount Pleasant writers use linguistic strategies such as presupposition, deixis, and contrast, coupled with discursive themes of filth and geography, to construct a core of the Mount Pleasant community. The writers place themselves and people who share their values in that core, and immigrants at the margins. These strategies serve as a discursive type of spatial purification practice (cf. Sibley 1988) through which the grantwriters set up a moral and spatial order where they and other core community members are deemed to use space ‘appropriately’, and thus inhabit positive moral positions, while immigrant community members’ imputed ‘inappropriate’ use of space is used to construct negative moral positions for them.