Levels of burden and satisfaction among Spanish foster carers

The aim of this study was to analyse the levels of burden and satisfaction among foster families in Spain, as well as the relationships between these variables and characteristics of the foster children and their carers. Participants were 86 foster families (comprising 71 foster fathers and 86 foster mothers) and the 104 children who they were fostering (56 boys and 48 girls). The instruments used were the Zarit Burden Interview and a questionnaire on foster carers' satisfaction with the preparation and support they had received. The results revealed low levels of burden among the families. Levels of burden were directly correlated with the amount of time the children had spent in residential care and with the age of foster fathers, and inversely correlated with how long the child had been with the current foster family. Higher levels of burden were reported by carers whose foster child was academically delayed. Regarding satisfaction, the highest ratings corresponded to items referring to the work of professionals, while the lowest were given for items concerning the information that foster families had received about the child's personality and the material and financial support available to them. The implications of the findings for professional practice are discussed.     

Planning and implementation of a participatory evaluation strategy: A viable approach in the evaluation of community-based participatory programs addressing cancer disparities

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been posited as a promising methodology to address health concerns at the community level, including cancer disparities. However, the major criticism to this approach is the lack of scientific grounded evaluation methods to assess development and implementation of this type of research. This paper describes the process of development and implementation of a participatory evaluation framework within a CBPR program to reduce breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer disparities between African Americans and whites in Alabama and Mississippi as well as lessons learned. The participatory process involved community partners and academicians in a fluid process to identify common ground activities and outcomes. The logic model, a lay friendly approach, was used as the template and clearly outlined the steps to be taken in the evaluation process without sacrificing the rigorousness of the evaluation process. We have learned three major lessons in this process: (1) the importance of constant and open dialogue among partners; (2) flexibility to make changes in the evaluation plan and implementation; and (3) importance of evaluators playing the role of facilitators between the community and academicians. Despite the challenges, we offer a viable approach to evaluation of CBPR programs focusing on cancer disparities.     

Small area estimates of labour force participation under a multinomial logit mixed model

Summary.  A new methodology is developed for estimating unemployment or employment characteristics in small areas, based on the assumption that the sample totals of unemployed and employed individuals follow a multinomial logit model with random area effects. The method is illustrated with UK labour force data aggregated by sex–age groups. For these data, the accuracy of direct estimates is poor in comparison with estimates that are derived from the multinomial logit model. Furthermore, two different estimators of the mean-squared errors are given: an analytical approximation obtained by Taylor linearization and an estimator based on bootstrapping. A simulation study for comparison of the two estimators shows the good performance of the bootstrap estimator.     

Popular Literature in Africa: Post-Resistance Perspectives

This paper argues that our primary concern in responding to wrongdoing should be distinct from our concern with the just distribution of wealth: retributive justice serves an important moral end that is independent of the promotion of welfare. I proceed by comparing retributive justice to restorative justice, because the latter offers a paradigm often aimed at replacing retributive justice, and is more closely concerned with social justice. I suggest that there are different possible paradigms of restorative justice, that one which is closer to social justice is less plausible and that a more plausible model need not be in tension with retributive justice, but could rather fall under it. I do not, however, conclude that there is no relation between retributive and social justice; while they relate to importantly distinct moral claims, I provide reasons for thinking that the moral justification of our system of punishment depends on the existence of at least some measure of social justice. The aim of retributive justice is importantly distinct from the just distribution of wealth, but this distinct aim cannot be served without some degree of justice in the distribution of wealth.     

FDI and Technology as Levering Factors of Competitiveness in Developing Countries

Technology creation and absorption are two relevant processes that affect the role that multinational enterprises (MNE) may play in the competitiveness improvement of the developing economies. The importance of internal factors in local contexts, the increasing integration in the industrial international value chain and the access of firms from these countries to diverse external learning sources, constitute a suitable framework for the analysis of competitiveness shift. In this paper, we study how the integration of firms from developing countries in sophisticated high-tech markets can be defined by the combined action of MNE and the ability for technology absorption and creation. Our empirical analysis with panel data shows how the different dimensions of internal and external factors affect international competitiveness in high-tech industries.     

Surveying a Chicago public housing development: methodological challenges and lessons learned

During the winter and spring of 2003, the Survey Research Laboratory conducted a survey of residents of the Ida Wells and Madden Park housing developments on Chicago's near-south side. This article reviews existing research findings on using indigenous interviewers and reports the findings about the benefits and challenges of using residents as interviewers versus drawing from a regular pool of interviewers. Specifically, the authors talk about the challenges faced in using indigenous interviewers and then look at some data quality indicators among these two groups of interviewers, including cooperation rates, item nonresponse, and differences in responses to sensitive questions.     

Reciprocal Relationship Between Resilience and Professional Skills: A Longitudinal Study With Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the relationship between the resilience developed by social work students and the professional skills acquired during their university degree program. A longitudinal study was conducted over 4 academic years. Participants were 73 social work students at the University of Malaga (Spain). The results show a gradual increase in the development of resilience and in the acquisition of professional skills among the students during the 4-year period. Panel model analysis shows that the two processes were stable and reciprocal throughout the social work training process. The results suggest that resilience had a stronger effect on professional skills than the latter had on resilience. In conclusion, resilience is a relevant component of university training of future social workers.     

Entry modes and national systems of innovation

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) have contributed to the productive and technological upgrading of many host economies, whereas discussion about entry modes and developmental effects is far from being concluded. We explore the relative importance of national systems of innovation in various forms of firm internationalization. We hypothesize that, adopting a dynamic perspective, institutional stability and the consolidation of R&;D capacities reinforce entrepreneurship and become key driver mechanisms to improve the attraction of foreign entries. The empirical analysis is built upon a sample of countries with dissimilar levels of development using longitudinal data for the period 1998–2004. The findings confirm that the relative technological advance of host countries differ for cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&;A) compared to other entry modes, taking into account the diversity of the developing world, the potential of emerging economies and the need to investigate new drivers for the attraction of FDI.