"Bridging the Gap": New Relationships between Primary Care Groups and Local Authorities

Current policy places great emphasis on the development of "partnerships", particularly between NHS and local authority services, with the aims of increasing service coordination and delivery and improving health. To this end, primary care groups (PCGs), at the forefront of NHS organizational developments, are required to include a social services representative on their governing boards; similarly, primary care trusts (PCTs) have a social services representative on their executive committees. Drawing on a representative longitudinal national survey of English PCGs, the paper evaluates the contribution of these new governance arrangements to the development of inter-agency partnerships. Despite poor histories of collaboration and some major organizational barriers, there are some signs of progress, with social services representatives playing an active part in PCG affairs and having clear lines of communication about PCG matters with their employing authorities. Equally significantly, PCGs have also quickly established a wide range of contacts directly with other local authority services and departments. However, these early gains risk being limited by traditional professional inequalities between social work and medicine and, in particular, by the prospect of further organizational upheaval as PCGs merge with each other and/or acquire trust status.     

Using portfolios to stimulate critical thinking in social work education

Each generation of social work educators has grappled with the best way to teach students to become competent social workers. Critical thinking has become one goal in social work education. This paper is premised on the assumption that social work students can develop critical thinking abilities through portfolios. The theory behind the use of portfolios in social work education is a 'hand-in-glove fit' with critical thinking. In addition, portfolios are consonant with social work values of self-determination and individualisation. Portfolios are compendiums of purposefully selected student work to show that the objectives of a programme have been met. They are also useful as an alternative method of student evaluation. Portfolios and critical thinking are partners in educating students to become competent social workers.     

Nonstandard Employment in the Nonmetropolitan United States*

Abstract We examine the prevalence of nonstandard employment in the nonmetropolitan United States using the Current Population Survey Supplement on Contingent Work (1999 and 2001). We find that nonstandard work is more prevalent in nonmetropolitan than in central city or suburban areas. Logistic regression models controlling for sociode‐mographic and work characteristics, show that nonmetropolitan workers experience higher odds of nonstandard employment than central city or suburban workers. Variations in industrial and occupational structures in nonmetro and metro areas do not explain residential differences in nonstandard work. We also estimate the odds of employment in each of the three components of nonstandard work: contingent work, part‐time, and varied hour work. Nonmetropolitan workers are more likely than central city and suburban workers to be employed in contingent or varied hour work. The benefits and wages of nonstandard work are lower than for standard work across residence areas. The results highlight the importance of understanding nonstandard work and the components of nonstandard work, particularly when considering the nature of work across industries, occupations, and residence.     

Children in self-care: An examination of research confounds

Families using self-care, in-home, and out-of-home child care arrangements were compared on a number of demographic variables. Certain variables (e.g., family income; marital status) were, as expected, related to the type of child care in use. However, one unexpected trend also was identified: regardless of the type of child care arrangement reported by parents, as the age of children increased across the out-of-home, in-home, and self-care family groups so too did the number of hours children spent at home alone. This trend is discussed in relation to two confounding areas of which researchers should be aware when conducting school-age child care needs assessment surveys and conducting self-care studies: (a) the context within which the self-care decision is made; and (b) the reasoning that goes into making the self-care decision.     

Understanding Adolescence Today: A Review

SUMMARY. Much has changed in our understanding of adolescence over the last three decades. In the first place the very definition of this stage has become more uncertain, both at the point where childhood ceases, and at the time when it merges into adulthood. Second, there has been an enormous increase in the amount of empirical research available. This has had the effect of modifying - even transforming - some traditional notions of adolescence. Thirdly, a greater awareness of gender and race has enabled us to move beyond the white male dominated views of the teenage years which went unchallenged for some considerable time. Lastly, changes in legislation and youth policy in the United Kingdom have had a major impact on practice, and on the way professionals work with young people. This article reviews some of these changes, and attempts to reflect on our understanding of adolescence in the 1990s.     

Professionals' attitudes towards men in early childhood education: A national study

A national sample of women and men working in early childhood education was drawn from the membership of the National Association for the Education of Young Children in order to assess their attitudes toward the suitability, professional practice, and administrative capabilities of men in early childhood education. Men and women were found to hold similar views toward the capabilities and roles of male preschool teachers across all these areas. The general lack of polarity of attitudes between men and women on many popularlyheld beliefs about men in the early childhood field is discussed in relation to previous alleged stereotyped attitudes toward male preschool teachers.     

An Endangered Species: The Female as Addict or Member of an Addict Family*

When a woman is the identified addict or a member of a drug/alcohol abusing family system she often experiences considerably more psychiatric abuse than her male cohorts. This paper surveys some of the representative literature reflecting attitudes and practices imposed on these women. Explanations based on a study of healthy family systems are given with interpretations anchored in cultural rather than sexist phenomena. It is suggested that women need to be understood according to the complex interlocking transactions within family systems.     

Stepchildren's Views About Former Step‐Relationships Following Stepfamily Dissolution

Remarriages end in divorce more often than first marriages, so many stepchildren experience multiple parental divorces and the potential loss of significant family ties. Although there is substantial research on parent–child relationships after divorce, little is known about stepparent–stepchild relationships after divorce. Therefore, the authors conducted a grounded theory study of 41 adults who had undergone a stepfamily dissolution to explore their experiences with former stepparents. Postdivorce relationships with former stepparents are a function of whether stepchildren thought of their former stepparents as kin. Postdivorce step‐relationships were based on whether the stepchild had claimed the stepparent as kin, had once claimed them as kin but disclaimed them after the divorce, or had never claimed them as family members (unclaimed stepparents). Emotional reactions to parental divorce, patterns of support or resource exchanges, and parental encouragement or discouragement for continuing step‐relationships were identified. Implications for families, practitioners, and researchers are discussed.