Exploring emotional aspects of care and control in social work with children and families - a single case analysis of conversation

ABSTRACT

In this article, I explore how emotions are displayed and dealt with on a communicative level in face-to-face encounters between social workers and parents in a child welfare setting. The analysis draws upon detailed analysis of a whole encounter between a social worker and a parental couple who have recently had their new-born daughter placed in foster care. By examining the way emotional stances are expressed and responded to I discuss how orientations toward institutional tasks and goals create constraints for the display, recognition and validation of clients’ emotion displays. I consider the communicative challenges this poses for the parents and the social worker and the implications these may have for the client–worker relationship.     

Professionals' understanding of partnership with parents in the context of family support programmes

Partnership has become a dominant concept in current thinking about the parent–professional relationship within a variety of interventions aimed at child welfare, including family support practice. However, despite the burgeoning policy and research attention, the meaning of partnership in practice remains unclear. Based on interviews with professionals in a family support intervention in Flanders (the Dutch‐speaking part of Belgium), this paper offers an insight into professionals' daily interactions with parents. The analysis reveals a tension between professionals' commitment towards parents on the one hand, and the way professionals take up this commitment in an expert role on the other. Consequences for professionals' relationships in child and family welfare interventions are discussed, as well as some implications for the realization of proper partnerships that acknowledge the power imbalances that exist in such partnerships.     

Interpreting the Principal Component Analysis of Multivariate Density Functions

Functional principal component analysis (FPCA) as a reduction data technique of a finite number T of functions can be used to identify the dominant modes of variation of numeric three-way data.

We carry out the FPCA on multidimensional probability density functions, relate this method to other standard methods and define its centered or standardized versions. Grounded on the relationship between FPCA of densities, FPCA of their corresponding characteristic functions, PCA of the MacLaurin expansions of these characteristic functions and dual STATIS method applied to their variance matrices, we propose a method for interpreting the results of the FPCA of densities. This method is based on the investigations of the relationships between the scores of the FPCA and the moments associated to the densities.

The method is illustrated using known Gaussian densities. In practice, FPCA of densities deals with observations of multidimensional variables on T occasions. These observations can be used to estimate the T associated densities (i) by estimating the parameters of these densities, assuming that they are Gaussian, or (ii) by using the Gaussian kernel method and choosing the matrix bandwidth by the normal reference rule. Thereafter, FPCA estimate is derived from these estimates and the interpretation method is carried out to explore the dominant modes of variation of the types of three-way data encountered in sensory analysis and archaeology.     

How do social work novices and experts solve professional problems? A micro-analysis of epistemic activities and the use of evidence

Evidence-based practice in social work is an intensely debated topic, with many differing perspectives on how it should be done. However, we know surprisingly little about how social workers actually engage in professional problem-solving and about the knowledge base of those processes. To shed light on this topic of social work expertise, we present a novel model of scientific reasoning and argumentation and investigate how experts and novices differ in the reasoning processes they engage in as they are confronted with social work problems. Vignettes were used to capture reasoning processes, and the corresponding verbal data were then analysed. In this study, 26 probation officers and 22 social work students participated. The findings show that experts differ from novices with respect to both their knowledge bases and the epistemic activities in which they engage. Furthermore, a cluster analysis revealed three common problem-solving strategies: evidence-based solution seeking (15 experts and 15 novices), shared problem-solving (8 experts) and explanation seeking (1 expert and 7 novices). The results indicate the need to improve the practical problem-solving skills of students through situated teaching methods.     

Emigration Rates From Sample Surveys: An Application to Senegal

What is the emigration rate of a country, and how reliable is that figure? Answering these questions is not at all straightforward. Most data on international migration are census data on foreign-born population. These migrant stock data describe the immigrant population in destination countries but offer limited information on the rate at which people leave their country of origin. The emigration rate depends on the number leaving in a given period and the population at risk of leaving, weighted by the duration at risk. Emigration surveys provide a useful data source for estimating emigration rates, provided that the estimation method accounts for sample design. In this study, emigration rates and confidence intervals are estimated from a sample survey of households in the Dakar region in Senegal, which was part of the Migration between Africa and Europe survey. The sample was a stratified two-stage sample with oversampling of households with members abroad or return migrants. A combination of methods of survival analysis (time-to-event data) and replication variance estimation (bootstrapping) yields emigration rates and design-consistent confidence intervals that are representative for the study population.     

Big Five Personality Factors Among Men With a Sexual Interest in Children

Men with a sexual interest in children or adolescents have been described as less extraverted, conscientious, and emotionally stable than controls. Yet, such studies have mostly been conducted in forensic institutions. To test whether such findings generalize to community samples, we assessed personality profiles of 123 German-speaking men with and 89 men without pedohebephilia online, using the Big Five Inventory-25. Our results indicate that men with pedophilia or hebephilia are less emotionally stable and extraverted but more conscientious than controls. We discuss study limitations and potential causes for differences in personality among community samples of men with and without pedohebephilia.     

Condom negotiation strategy use and effectiveness among college students

College students may engage in risky sexual behaviors, such as inconsistent condom use, which increase their risk of sexually transmitted infections. This study examined the association between six condom influence strategies (CIS) and reported condom use among a diverse group of college students. Differences in CIS and condom use were examined by gender, race or ethnicity, and relationship status (casual, monogamous, or no current relationship). The study also used a cluster analysis to investigate how the CIS were used relative to one another, and how patterns of CIS use were related to condom use. Results showed interesting differences in CIS use by gender, race or ethnicity, and relationship status. Four patterns of CIS usage emerged, and results suggested that using all CIS frequently and using more assertive CIS may be particularly important for increased condom use. Men reported more condom use than women overall, but results indicated that using CIS were especially vital for increasing condom use for women. Surprisingly, there were no differences in condom use found for race or ethnicity and relationship type. Programs aimed at increasing students' condom use could benefit from promoting and practicing CIS, and recognizing potential differences among demographic groups.     

Native American men-women,lesbians, two-spirits: Contemporary and historical perspectives

ABSTRACT

People living in the role of the “other” sex in Native American cultures, often entering into same-sex relationships, have been subject to various anthropological, historical, and psychological analyses and interpretations. Most recently, there has been a shift to an indigenist/decolonial interdisciplinary focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Native people. This article gives a discussion of approaches to the subject, with a focus on female gender variability. An overview is given of the latter, complemented by a discussion of the identities and concerns of contemporary Native lesbians, many of whom identify as “two-spirit,” a term that alludes to the dual, spiritually powerful nature traditionally attributed in a number of Native American cultures to individuals who combine the feminine and masculine.     

Fast Machines,Slow Violence: ICTs,Planned Obsolescence,and E-waste

Abstract

This paper brings the temporalities of the global e-waste recycling trade into the temporal reckonings of speed, acceleration, and simultaneity typically associated with information and communications technologies (ICTs). Following feminist philosopher Sofia, it begins with a reconsideration of theories of technology as they relate to time and the environment. The second part of the paper suggests that recycling practices do not address the tempos of production, especially planned obsolescence. Bringing together Nixon's concept of slow violence with Sofia's theory of container technologies, this paper interrogates the speed, acceleration, and simultaneity often attributed to ICTs and globalization to argue that planned obsolescence functions as a type of slow violence, and that it structures the environmental politics of the information age.     

Correction to: Between Collaboration and Subordination: State and Non-state Actors in Russian Anti-drug Policy

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This paper was intended for the present special section Civil Society in Authoritarian and Hybrid Regimes, but published...