International Collaboration in Translating Career Theory to Practice

This article describes an effort to apply a theoretical perspective developed in one country (the United States) to cope with increasing demand for career services and limited funding in another country (the United Kingdom) faced with similar increasing demands for cost‐effective service delivery. The authors hope that the experience gained in the transnational application of theory to practice they present can be replicated in other countries using other theoretical perspectives. This article describes the process used in one transnational career theory adaptation project and discusses implications for transnational adaptations of career theory across countries.     

Structural Equations,Treatment Effects,and Econometric Policy Evaluation1

This paper uses the marginal treatment effect (MTE) to unify the nonparametric literature on treatment effects with the econometric literature on structural estimation using a nonparametric analog of a policy invariant parameter; to generate a variety of treatment effects from a common semiparametric functional form; to organize the literature on alternative estimators; and to explore what policy questions commonly used estimators in the treatment effect literature answer. A fundamental asymmetry intrinsic to the method of instrumental variables (IV) is noted. Recent advances in IV estimation allow for heterogeneity in responses but not in choices, and the method breaks down when both choice and response equations are heterogeneous in a general way.     

The Role of Maternal Behavior in the Relation between Shyness and Social Reticence in Early Childhood and Social Withdrawal in Middle Childhood

The moderating effect of maternal behavior in the relations between social reticence and shyness in preschool and subsequent social withdrawal was investigated. Eighty children (47 females) were judged for degree of social reticence during play with unfamiliar peers at the age of four and mothers completed the Colorado child temperament inventory (CCTI). At the age of seven, the children were coded for degree of social withdrawal during peer play and mothers and children were observed during structured and unstructured activities. Two significant interaction effects indicated that maternal report of shyness was a positive predictor of age‐seven social withdrawal when mothers lacked positivity; whereas observed social reticence was associated with higher degrees of social withdrawal when mothers were highly negative. Maternal positivity and negativity differentially influenced the development of social withdrawal in childhood, such that maternal negativity is associated with poor social functioning in children who have an established history of social withdrawal; whereas maternal positivity is associated with better social outcome for preschoolers who are viewed as temperamentally shy.     

Older family-carers' views on the future accommodation needs of relatives who have an intellectual disability

Over the past 20 years, research across the developed world has identified trends towards ageing of the population with learning/intellectual disability. Alongside is the recognition that family-carers are also ageing. Recently, the UK government has sought to identify the future housing needs of dependents with intellectual disability residing with older carers. Consequentially, a city council commissioned this qualitative study involving 28 older carers. The findings indicate a need for information about housing options, a lack of practical support and feelings of marginalisation. The conclusions suggest key roles for social services in providing proactive support and advice to family-carers, and a greater degree of joint working between social services departments and housing agencies. These resonate with similar international studies and provide the opportunity to focus on the perspectives of family-carers. Their experiences are real, and if welfare professionals are to work with people with intellectual disability and their family-carers, acknowledging their views is essential.     

On the Breslow–Holubkov estimator

Breslow and Holubkov (J Roy Stat Soc B 59:447–461 1997a) developed semiparametric maximum likelihood estimation for two-phase studies with a case–control first phase under a logistic regression model and noted that, apart for the overall intercept term, it was the same as the semiparametric estimator for two-phase studies with a prospective first phase developed in Scott and Wild (Biometrica 84:57–71 1997). In this paper we extend the Breslow–Holubkov result to general binary regression models and show that it has a very simple relationship with its prospective first-phase counterpart. We also explore why the design of the first phase only affects the intercept of a logistic model, simplify the calculation of standard errors, establish the semiparametric efficiency of the Breslow–Holubkov estimator and derive its asymptotic distribution in the general case.     

Preparing for Elite Political Participation Simulations and the Political Socialization of Adolescents

Objective. We ask: How do socialization experiences shape adolescent perceptions of and the performance of gender in political leadership roles? We examine a political simulation, Model United Nations, which attracts academically motivated students aspiring to elite roles in politics and government. Methods. Using observational and survey data, we explore adolescent behavior in the simulation as both a learning experience and as a reflection of students' perceptions of leadership behavior. Results. Three critical observations emerge. First, the Model United Nations is a domain in which young women do not play an equal part. Female delegates take far fewer speaking turns. However, contextual factors, including membership on a committee that deals with less masculine issues and on a committee with a female chair, increase the likelihood of female turn‐taking. Second, though participants come to the event with very similar motivations, young women leave less satisfied with their personal effectiveness than do young men. Finally, female delegates are judged less favorably by themselves and others and thus as less successful in the simulation. Conclusions. These findings have normative implications for the recruitment of young women to politics.     

Focus Groups as a Tool for Policy Analysis

Focus groups were formerly associated with market research but have recently gained some measure of social scientific respectability. In this article, I briefly recapitulate the history of focus groups and then examine their role in 4 (2 Dutch, 2 American) policy research projects. In each case, the focus groups provided an understanding of the interests and values of different stakeholder groups and per-mitted the analysts to predict the groups' reactions to policy alternatives. This served to link the focus groups to the underlying policy problem, to set the policy issues in their appropriate context, to take due account of the technical complexities of the situation, and to orient toward integrating the results of the focus groups with the other tools used in the policy analysis. The four cases shared a "spiral" model approach to focus groups, in which the discussion moves from generic to specific toward the object of focus rather than tackling it directly. This permits both a breadth and depth of perspective and helps avoid posturing. I conclude that focus groups provide a value for policy analysis because they enable participant stakeholders to become part of the process, help uncover misunderstandings that conceal underlying agreements among stakeholders, and uncover potential problems of implementation.     

Introduction: social policy, economic growth and developmental welfare

Although the notion of developmental welfare is not new, it is only in recent times that its central premises have again attracted attention in social policy circles. Since developmental welfare offers an opportunity to challenge the neo-liberal claim that social expenditures harm the economy, and that economic development requires retrenchments in state welfare, more information about this approach is needed. This article discusses the developmental welfare approach with reference to neo-liberalism's current hegemonic influence on social policy. It traces the historical evolution of developmental welfare, discusses its theoretical implications and outlines its practical proposals.