Reconstructing child welfare through participatory and child‐centred professional practice: a conceptual approach1

The ‘child’ in child welfare/protection is seen as a dependent waif and an object of interest, on whose behalf adults speak and act. An alternative perspective has argued for child‐centredness, and includes concepts of child liberation, rights and citizenship. Policymakers and practitioners who may accept the underlying principles may be concerned about the appropriateness and applicability of such principles in relation to practice with children and their parents in child welfare/protection cases. This paper discusses a conceptual framework for research that aims to explore participatory and child‐centred professional practice by critically evaluating and developing, for professional practice, the practical meanings of ‘participatory’ and ‘children as citizens’. We do not present research outcomes based on empirical data; instead, we present our conceptual framework as the first stage of research in progress into participatory and child‐centred professional practice.     

Statistical methodology for assessing homology of intronic regions of genes

We consider the problem of statistically evaluating the similarity of DNA intronic regions of genes. Present algorithms are based on matching a sequence of interest with known DNA sequences in a gene bank and are designed primarily to assess homology among exonic regions of genes. Most research focuses on exonic regions because they have a clear biological significance, coding for proteins, and therefore tend to be more conserved in evolution than intronic regions. To investigate whether the intronic features of genes whose expression is highly sensitive to environmental perturbations differ from genes that have a more constant expression, a collection of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and nonregulatory genes involved in energy metabolism are compared. An analysis of the features of these genes' intronic regions result in clustering by regulatory group. In addition, Billingsley's test for Markov structure (1961) suggests that 67% of the intronic regions in this collection of genes show evidence of nonrandom structure, indicating the possibility of a biological function for these regions. The result of Billingsley's test for homology is used as input to a clustering algorithm. The biological significance of this methodology lies in the identification of groups based on the intronic regions from genes of unknown function. With the advent of rapid sequencing techniques, there is a great need for statistical techniques to help identify the purpose of poorly understood portions of genes. These methods can be utilized to assess the functional group to which such a gene might possibly belong.     

Sociological Perspectives on New Communication Technologies

The technological leaps of our day, especially those in the communications area, touch issues at the very heart of sociological discourse; new communication technologies problematize the definition of interaction, the nature of social ties, and the scope of experience and reality. In light of such developments, one might guess that sociologists would be very busy. Yet, our voice on these matters registers as a mere whisper in comparison to many of our sister social sciences: communications, psychology, and anthropology. (Cerulo 1995, at annual American Sociological Association meetings)     

Coming Together: New Taxonomies for the Analysis of Social Relations

In previous work, we have noted a certain rigidity in sociology's approach to the topic of social relations (Cerulo 1997; Cerulo and Ruane 1997; Cerulo, Ruane, and Chayko 1992). With few exceptions, literature on the subject dichotomizes social relations with reference to the scope of the interaction (small group versus large group) and the mode by which social actors connect (direct connections versus mediated connections). Further, many researchers implicitly rank the social value of each relational form. Sociologists typically identify a society's primary and most valuable relations as the result of direct, physically copresent exchange, exchange involving relatively few interactants. In contrast, secondary relations often are characterized as faceless, impersonal, ingenuous, and fleeting–the result of large-group exchange established via mediated or mechanized connections. Cerulo (1997) suggested the need to reformulate any definition of social relations built upon the small group/large group or the direct/mediated dichotomies. She presented several critical elements upon which new definitions could be built. In this piece, we configure those elements, building six new analytic taxonomies–tools we hope will provoke a richer discussion of connecting, interacting, and resulting forms of social relations.     

Cybersex: The Impact of a Contemporary Problem on the Practices of Marriage and Family Therapists

The number of people accessing the Internet for sexual purposes (cybersex) has increased dramatically over the last 10 years. However, little research has been conducted to determine how frequently clients present for treatment with cybersex‐related issues. One hundred sixty‐four clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy participated in the current study, which was conducted to identify the impacts of cybersex on MFTs’ practices. Most respondents report seeing clients with cybersex‐related issues, with client numbers increasing over the past 2 years. Although most respondents felt prepared to diagnose and treat adults with cybersex problems, half felt unprepared to diagnose and treat children. Lastly, most respondents reported that their required college courses were not helpful in preparing them to diagnose and treat cybersex‐related problems. The implications of study findings are discussed.     

Safeguarding young people from cyber pornography and cyber sexual predation: a major dilemma of the internet

Over the past 20 years, the internet has provided an expedient mode of communication and access to a wealth of information. The internet is a valuable tool; however, it can also be detrimental to the wellbeing of children due to numerous online hazards. There is the potential for children to be abused via cyberspace through online sexual solicitation and access to pornography. Indeed, the internet is replete with inappropriate material, including pornography, chatrooms with adult themes and access to instant messaging wherein others could misrepresent themselves. Because children are actively utilizing the internet where unknown others can have access to them or where they can be exposed to inappropriate sexual materials, they require safeguarding and education in safe internet use. The purpose of this article is to provide a discussion of how to safeguard children from and educate them about online sexual solicitation and pornography. We contend that society needs an overall conceptual shift in its attitude towards young people's internet use. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Socioeconomic Strain,Family Ties,and Adolescent Health in a Rural Northeastern County

In adolescence, vital sources of support come from family relationships; however, research that considers the health‐related impact of ties to both parents and siblings is sparse, and the utility of such ties among at‐risk teens is not well understood. Here we use two waves of panel data from the population of 8th and 12th grade students in a geographically isolated, rural, northeastern U.S. county to assess whether socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the effects of parental and sibling attachments on three indicators of adolescent health: obesity, depression, and problem substance use. Our findings indicate that, net of stressful life events, prior health, and sociodemographic controls, increases in parental and sibling attachment correspond with reduced odds of obesity for low‐SES adolescents, reduced odds of depression for high‐SES adolescents, and reduced odds of problem substance use for low‐SES adolescents. Results suggest also that sibling and maternal ties are more influential than paternal ties, at least with regard to the outcomes considered. Overall, the findings highlight the value of strong family ties for the physical, psychological, and behavioral health of socioeconomically strained rural teens, and reveal the explanatory potential of both sibling and parental ties for adolescent health.     

Does Child Gender Predict Older Parents’ Well-Being?

Inconsistencies in comparisons of older parents’ well-being with that of older, childless adults may be resolved by considering the separate effects of sons and daughters on parents. The hypothesis was that older parents of only daughters have greater life satisfaction, more satisfying relations with their children, more intimate family relations, and greater social support satisfaction compared to older childless adults and parents of only sons. Childless older adults were predicted to have more intimate friends. The effect of having both sons and daughters was also explored. Longitudinal results indicated parents had greater life satisfaction than childless adults, and parents of daughters were more satisfied with relations with their children than parents of only sons. Childless adults had more relations with friends and fewer family intimate relations. Neither social support satisfaction or affect varied across groups. The findings are related to gender socialization, social support, and normative expectations.     

Out with the Old,In with the Old: A Closer Look at Younger Versus Older Elderly Migration*

Objective. This research examines the migration behavior of the elderly, recognizing that the older and younger elderly may make different decisions and have different consequences for the states in which they live. Methods. Using U.S. Census migration flow data, we describe the movements of the younger and older elderly. Our econometric analysis brings together the wisdom of elderly migration research that focuses on motives (amenity vs. return/assistance) and the Tiebout‐related research that considers the effects of policy. Results. We find that all elderly age groups avoid moving to states with high estate/inheritance/gift taxes, although the effect weakens with age. Likewise, the younger elderly appear to be “shopping around” for destinations with a temperate climate and favorable government policies regarding income taxes and welfare spending, whereas the older elderly are more likely to be “driven out” of their origin state by a high cost of living and income and property taxes. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that both the patterns of migration and the factors that affect migration decisions differ between the younger and older elderly.