Transgender children and youth: a child welfare practice perspective

Using an ecological framework, the existing literature and research, and the authors' combined 60 years of clinical practice with children, youth, and families, this article examines gender variant childhood development from a holistic viewpoint where children, youth, and environments are understood as a unit in the context of their relationship to one another. The focus is limited to a discussion about the recognition of gender identity; an examination of the adaptation process through which gender variant children and youth go through to deal with the stress of an environment where there is not a "goodness of fit"; and a discussion of the overall developmental tasks of a transgender childhood and adolescence. Recommendations for social work practice with gender variant young people are presented in the conclusion of the paper.     

Material civilization: things and society

This paper argues that although classical sociology has largely overlooked the importance of social relations with the material world in shaping the form of society, Braudel's concept of 'material civilization' is a useful way to begin to understand the sociological significance of this relationship. The limitations of Braudel's historical and general concept can be partially overcome with Elias's analysis of the connection between 'technization' and 'civilization' that allows for both a civilizing and a de-civilizing impact of emergent forms of material relation that both lengthen and shorten the chains of interdependence between the members of a society. It is suggested that the concept of the 'morality of things' employed by a number of commentators is useful in summarizing the civilizing effects of material objects and addressing their sociological significance. From the sociology of consumption the idea of materiality as a sign of social relationships can be drawn, and from the sociology of technology the idea of socio-technical systems and actor-networks can contribute to the understanding of material civilization. It is argued that the concept of 'material capital' can usefully summarize the variable social value of objects but to understand the complexity of material civilization as it unfolds in everyday life, an analysis of 'material interaction' is needed. Finally the paper suggests some initial themes and issues apparent in contemporary society that the sociological study of material civilization might address; the increased volume, functional complexity and material specificity of objects and the increased social complexity, autonomy and substitutability that is entailed. A theory of 'material civilization' is the first step in establishing a sociology of objects.     

Improving quality at the point of service

The authors provide a research-based construct of youth program quality that differentiates safety, support, interaction, and engagement, four important issues for practitioners working with youth in the middle years. They describe two tools that have helped direct staff to be intentional about creating offerings that are appropriate for early adolescents: the focusing idea of point-of-service quality and the technology of observational assessment. They describe how these tools can be used to create cultures of accountability and intentionality that extend across program levels.     

After the wave-the Centrelink Social Work response offshore

Communities worldwide were affected by the tsunamis that struck a dozen Indian Ocean nations on 26 December 2004. More than 300,000 people were killed or left missing as a result of the tragedy. The Australian Government played a key role in the disaster response overseas and in Australia. As part of a whole-of-government response to the crisis, eight Centrelink Social Workers were deployed to tsunami-affected areas for two weeks after the initial disaster to provide personal support to Australian victims and their families. This paper presents the service delivery framework adopted offshore and delineates the role undertaken by the social workers. Drawing on their practice experience, the paper examines some of the challenges, dilemmas, learnings and implications for future service delivery.     

Recent European fertility patterns: fitting curves to 'distorted' distributions

Recent patterns of fertility in Europe show marked differences between countries. Recent United Kingdom and Irish fertility curves show 'distortions' in terms of a 'bulge' in early age fertility, distinct from the smoother curves of other European countries. These patterns may not be adequately described by mathematical functions used by previous studies to model fertility curves. A mixture model with two component distributions may be more appropriate. The suitability of the simple and mixture Hadwiger functions is examined in relation to the fertility curves of a number of European countries. While the simple Hadwiger model fits recent period age-specific fertility distributions for some countries, others which display a 'bulge' in early age fertility distributions for some countries, others which display a 'bulg' in early age fertility require a mixture Hadwiger model. Some of the parameters of the Hadwiger models appear to be related to familiar demographic indices. The simple and mixture Hadwiger models appear useful in describing and comparing fertility patterns across European countries.     

The effects of economic circumstances on British students' mental and physical health

Three-hundred sixty British university students completed a questionnaire providing information on demographic characteristics, financial circumstances, smoking, and drug and alcohol use. A 14-item inventory of physical symptoms, the short form 36 health survey (SF-36), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used to assess their physical and psychological well-being. Except for physical functioning, all subscales of the SF-36 and the GHQ indicated levels of health significantly below population norms matched for age and sex. Poorer mental health was related to longer working hours outside the university and difficulty in paying bills. Students who had considered abandoning study for financial reasons had poorer mental health, lower levels of social functioning and vitality, and poorer physical health as indicated by variables on the SF-36. They were also heavier smokers. Students' personal debt was significantly associated with their knowing people involved in prostitution, crime, or drug dealing to help support themselves financially.     

Evaluation of an inter-organizational program for prevention of work-related injuries in a WHO Safe Community

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a community-based injury prevention program on work-related injuries. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based quasi-experimental design was used with pre- and post-implementation measurements in an intervention and a control area. The program was based on cross-sectoral participation in detecting and taking action against work-related injuries. Change in the relative risk of injury was estimated by the odds ratio. RESULTS: The relative risk of work-related injury decreased following program exposure, whereas a tendence toward increase was observed in the control area. Middle-aged men accounted for the largest decrease in injury risk. Among the women, a decrease was observed only in the upper middle-aged group. No female-dominated occupational area showed a decrease in injury risk following exposure to the program. CONCLUSION: The study showed that the community-based approach had a general effect on the incidence of work-related injuries.     

Managing unmanageable physicians: leadership, stewardship and disruptive behavior

Physician executives would undoubtedly prefer to spend the bulk of their time inspiring great employees and building productive teams instead of struggling with disruptive physician behavior. Explore ways to diminish the frequency and intensity of disruptive behavior in your organization and identify your role, rights, responsibilities and accountabilities as a physician leader.