Public Perceptions About Sex Offenders and Community Protection Policies

Sex offenders and sex crimes provoke a great deal of anxiety in our society, and over the past decade, lawmakers have passed a variety of social policies designed to protect the public from sexual victimization. The purpose of this study was to examine public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Data were obtained from a sample of 193 residents in Melbourne, Florida. It was hypothesized that the public holds some inaccurate beliefs about sex offenders, and that there is strong public support for community protection policies. It was found that community members believe that sex offenders have very high recidivism rates, view sex offenders as a homogeneous group with regard to risk, and are skeptical about the benefits of sex offender treatment. The hypothesis that public perceptions contradict empirical research was supported. Community members were overwhelmingly in favor of public disclosure of information about registered sex offenders, although they did not express as much support for residence restrictions. Implications for public policy, and for the media's role in shaping public perceptions, are discussed.     

Reforming Supplementary Benefit: The impact on claimants

The Government bill to reform social security will become an Act in 1986, and is planned for implementation in April 1987. One of the most significant areas for change will be the supplementary benefit scheme, which now has some four million claimants, and supports over seven million people. It will be replaced by the income support scheme, which will differ in important respects from the current provision. The review of the SB scheme, set up by Norman Fowler, was the second major review of the scheme in less than a decade. The first review was set up by the Labour Government in 1976 and culminated in major changes introduced by the Conservative Government in the Social Security Act 1980. This article examines what impact the 1980 scheme had on claimants, on their standard of living, on their understanding of the scheme and on the extent to which the scheme meets their needs. It then goes on to examine whether the Fowler Act will meet some of the criticisms of the 1980 reforms and, in particular, if it will improve the position of claimants.     

Adolescent dialysands in group therapy

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the psychological effects of chronic illness and its treatment. Group treatment of girls with renal failure proved to be of therapeutic value in improving self-image and reducing emotional stress.     

World Development and the Restructuring of the Industrial Economies

This paper reports on the joint SPM/CRANEC Catholic University of Milan symposium on “World Development and the Restructuring of Industrial Economies” held at Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy during the week of 10–15 September 1979. The symposium was organized to discuss the adjustments required by the industrialized economies when adapting to the changes inherent in present world development trends, as well as to help define national and international policy measures that might be used to facilitate the restructuring process. This report reviews the key issues, alternative strategies for restructuring, and policy measures for restructuring discussed at the symposium. It also offers some conclusions based on the results of the symposium.     

The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Economic Well-Being: A Comparison Across Household Types

Using survey data from Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipients in Madison County, New York, we evaluate the effectiveness of the EITC in improving the economic well-being of low-income households. In particular, we examine the impact of the EITC across household types. For tax years 2002 through 2004, we find that the EITC is responsible for significantly lowering the poverty rate of EITC recipients, from 57 to 49%. In fact, for households below the poverty line, the EITC fills 31% of the gap between their adjusted gross income and the poverty line. The EITC has the largest impact on single parent households, lowering their poverty rate by 11.2 percentage points and reducing their poverty gap by almost 35%. However, the EITC has negligible effects on the poorest households in the sample—childless singles. A majority (64%) of EITC recipients intends to use at least some of the refund on basic needs and almost half plan on using part of their refund for debt repayment. This suggests that the EITC helps the majority of recipients get by but does not increase their economic mobility. Somewhat surprisingly, single parent households in the sample are not that different from married parent households in terms of EITC amounts, poverty rates, use of credit, and participation in government programs, despite earning less.     

BOOKS RECEIVED

McGoldrick, M., (Ed.). (1998). Re-visioning family therapy: Race, culture, and gender in clinical practice .
Minuchin, P., Colapinto, J., & Minuchin, S. (1998). Working with families of the poor .
Tasker. F. L., & Golombok, S. (1997). Grouping up in a lesbian family: Effects on child developement .
Marsh, D., & Magee, R. (1998). Etbical and legal issues in professional practice with families .
Freeman, J., Epston, D., & Lobovitz, D. (1997). Playful approaches to serious problems .     

Re-inscribing Gender in New Modes of Medical Expertise: The Investigator-Coordinator Relationship in the Clinical Trials Industry

This article analyses the ways in which research coordinators forge professional identities in the highly gendered organizational context of the clinic. Drawing upon qualitative research on the organization of the clinical trials industry (that is, the private sector, for profit auxiliary companies that support pharmaceutical drug studies), this article explores the relationships between predominantly male physician-investigators and female research coordinators and the constitution of medical expertise in pharmaceutical drug development. One finding is that coordinators actively seek to establish relationships with investigators that mirror traditional doctor-nurse relationships, in which the feminized role is subordinated and devalued. Another finding is that the coordinators do, in fact, have profound research expertise that is frequently greater than that of the investigators. The coordinators develop expertise on pharmaceutical products and diseases through their observations of the patterns that occur in patient-participants' responses to investigational drugs. The article argues, however, that the nature of the relationships between coordinators and investigators renders invisible the coordinators' expertise. In this context, gender acts as a persistent social structure shaping both coordinators' and investigators' perceptions of who can be recognized as having authority and power in the workplace.     

Readers Comment

Abstract

Cardiac patients frequently experience anxiety and depression as major responses to a life-threatening event. Well-timed intervention by the social worker can assist in alleviating these responses and enhance psychological well-being by the use of counselling and other therapeutic techniques. Two case-studies are presented illustrating the range of work undertaken in a comprehensive approach to working with patients in both the acute and rehabilitation phases of cardiac crisis.     

A comparison of widowhood and well-being among older Greek and British-Australian migrant women

The impact of widowhood on well-being has been well-documented, but to date has not focused extensively on the experience of older migrants who have aged in a foreign land. This study aimed to examine the well-being of older migrant widows from two groups in South Australia: British-born (n = 61) and Greek-born (n = 60) Australian migrants, who had been widowed, on average, 13 years. All participants completed a self-report questionnaire in their preferred language. Three indicators of current well-being (self-rated health, depression and loneliness) as well as variables expected to differ cross-culturally, and potentially influence well-being (mourning rituals; continuing bonds to one's spouse; religiosity; social support) were measured. Greek-born widows displayed higher levels of mourning rituals, continuing bonds and religiosity than the British. Both groups perceived similarly high levels of familial social support. Greek widows also reported worse self-rated health, and increased symptoms of depression and loneliness compared to the British. This paper suggests that the detrimental impact of widowhood on well-being may be greater for non-English speaking migrants who are ageing outside of their country of origin, and who, despite residing in an English-speaking host country for several decades, have retained the linguistic, cultural and religious practices and traditions of their home country.