Social conservatism vs social justice: the portrayal of child abuse in the press in Victoria,Australia

This paper explores the role of the media in influencing child protection policies in the Australian state of Victoria. Media coverage of child abuse is seen to have had both positive and negative consequences. On the one hand, media campaigns have almost certainly helped to produce more equitable and effective child protection policies and practices. On the other hand, much media coverage (particularly in the tabloid media) has been sensationalist and simplistic. Such coverage arguably has a broader social conservative political agenda, which is to defend traditional institutions and values such as the family, rather than being primarily concerned with identifying necessary reforms to child protection policies and legislation. Attention is drawn here to the local coverage of recent high‐profile child abuse cases and debates within the two daily Melbourne newspapers, The Age and the Herald Sun. Evidence is presented to demonstrate that the tabloid Herald Sun has consistently pursued a broader social conservative agenda based on defending traditional nuclear families from allegedly subversive or deviant groups such as incompetent and/or authoritarian state social workers or, alternatively, individually abusive parents. In contrast, the quality daily The Age has generally eschewed simplistic coverage of individual cases in favour of broader structural reform agendas. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Socio-demographic Correlates of Subjective Well-being in Urban India

This study aimed to explore subjective well-being (SWB) in an urban Indian sample. Adults (n = 1099) belonging to two wards in the city of Bangalore in South India, responded to a study-specific questionnaire. This paper is based on data generated as part of an ongoing larger study looking at correlates of SWB. Almost equal number of men and women responded to the study and their age ranged from 20 to 81 years (mean age 37 years). Majority of them were married, Hindus, from middle socio-economic status, had studied above pre-university level and more than half were earning. The mean scores on positive affect (40.9), negative affect (27.6) and life satisfaction (24) suggested above average levels of SWB. Higher age, being married, having higher education, higher income and working in a full time job seemed to improve life satisfaction and decrease negative affect. Religion was also significantly associated with negative affect. Step-wise regression analysis suggested that only education and income were important predictors of positive affect, while negative affect was better predicted by age, income, work status and religion. Life satisfaction was predicted by income, age and education. The important correlates of SWB for men and women were somewhat different. Overall, sociodemographic variables have minimal effect on SWB in urban India and research needs to explore other predictors of SWB.     

Working Longer May Be Good Public Policy,But It Is Not Necessarily Good for Older People

Older people are facing a changed set of expectations regarding work and retirement. Until quite recently early retirement was being encouraged. Today's older workers, however, are contemplating longer working lives amid policy concerns about the costs of social welfare associated with an aging population. While working longer is, almost universally, being promoted as a social and individual good this article argues that this policy shift is unlikely to change the situation of many older workers who would have needed to continue working anyway. It also argues that the emphasis on prolonged employment undervalues engagement in activities beyond employment. As well, it argues that the emphasis on prolonging employment neglects to account for the attendant risks for many of continuing to work or having to seek work and the potential health- and well-being-enhancing effects of retirement.     

Are interventions supporting separated parents father inclusive? Insights and challenges from a review of programme implementation and impact

This paper reviews divorce‐related parenting programmes, assessing the extent to which fathers are included and whether father inclusion influences outcomes. The paper also discusses limitations of the research evidence and implications for future intervention and evaluation design. Thirteen programmes met the criteria in the review period 2005–2012 but only four had been evaluated using randomized control trials or with independent measures from mothers and fathers. Analysis of these four programmes shows modest evidence of reduced couple‐conflict, improved coparenting and some evidence of improved child outcomes. Key issues raised are the need for improving the quantity and quality of demographic data about fathers; the importance of incorporating analysis by gender of parent into evaluation design and the value of developing and routinely using father‐related indicators to measure programme impact on men's parenting, fathering and co‐parental relationships.     

Working with the whole family: What case files tell us about social work practices

Practice theories to support child protection social work in the United Kingdom, as in the United States and Australia, are being squeezed out by a focus on performance targets and procedural timescales. This study examines an innovative programme designed to reverse this trend initiated by an English local government authority. The programme aimed to embed systemic family practice in situations where children are deemed to be at risk of harm. The findings, derived from an analysis of a case file sample, indicate that the social worker interaction with family members is predicated on who is living with the child in conjunction with the risk status of the case file. Conversely, practitioner interactions with family members are divorced from family structure and the lived experiences of kin relationships. This study concludes by examining why, despite training in systemic family practice, it was problematic for social workers to integrate it into their encounters with families.     

MAKING FRIENDS TO INFLUENCE OTHERS: ENTRY AND CONTRIBUTION DECISIONS THAT AFFECT SOCIAL CAPITAL IN AN ASSOCIATION

We examine factors affecting entry and contribution to an association that provides different goods using social capital formed by heterogeneous firms that lobby in a political economy environment. We identify how associations attract the most productive firms or the least productive firms in an industry and explain how such associations differ in their intensive and extensive marginal contributions to social capital. We find that the level of regulatory stringency, association products including capital goods for members or lobbying to influence regulation, and government influenceability affect membership and contribution decisions. These results vary with firm productivity. Often, an increase in government influenceability increases social capital in associations composed of highly productive firms because they prefer to influence policy while less productive firms prefer more association‐produced production inputs. (JEL D71, D73)