Computer-based scheduling of technical resources

This paper considers the design of a Scheduling Sub-System which could be attached to an existing computerised data processing system in order to enhance its overall operation. It draws heavily on the experience of the authors in designing a system to assist in the scheduling of video tape machines within BBC Television.     

Adolescent Siblings' Daily Discussions: Connections to Perceived Academic,Athletic, and Peer Competency

First‐ and second‐born adolescent siblings from 21 families completed a daily diary on each of 7 days. The frequency and content of siblings' conversations are described and the relationship between the content of siblings' discussion and their perceived academic, athletic, and peer competency is explored. Siblings most often talked about extracurricular activities, media, and academics. The remaining topics, friends, family, eating, and body image, were the focus of discussion <10% of the time. The extent to which siblings discussed extracurricular activities, media, and academics was connected to perceived competency. Discussion focuses on the sibling relationship as an important context for adolescent development.     

Socioeconomic Strain,Family Ties,and Adolescent Health in a Rural Northeastern County

In adolescence, vital sources of support come from family relationships; however, research that considers the health‐related impact of ties to both parents and siblings is sparse, and the utility of such ties among at‐risk teens is not well understood. Here we use two waves of panel data from the population of 8th and 12th grade students in a geographically isolated, rural, northeastern U.S. county to assess whether socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the effects of parental and sibling attachments on three indicators of adolescent health: obesity, depression, and problem substance use. Our findings indicate that, net of stressful life events, prior health, and sociodemographic controls, increases in parental and sibling attachment correspond with reduced odds of obesity for low‐SES adolescents, reduced odds of depression for high‐SES adolescents, and reduced odds of problem substance use for low‐SES adolescents. Results suggest also that sibling and maternal ties are more influential than paternal ties, at least with regard to the outcomes considered. Overall, the findings highlight the value of strong family ties for the physical, psychological, and behavioral health of socioeconomically strained rural teens, and reveal the explanatory potential of both sibling and parental ties for adolescent health.     

Commons and the nature of modernity: towards a cosmopolitical view on craft guilds

Theory and Society - This paper argues that historical research on late medieval and early modern craft guilds fails to escape teleological and anachronistic views, including when they are...     

Milford Redefined: A Model of Initial and Advanced Generalist Social Work

Abstract

Social work has long sought a conceptual framework to describe its most basic approach to service delivery: generalist social work practice. A milestone in that process was the series of Milford conferences in the 1920s during which the elements of “generic casework” were first identified. This article presents a model that advances and clarifies the concepts of generalist social work as viewed at the beginning of the 1990s. Generalist social work at both the initial and advanced levels involves a way of viewing practice. It is a perspective that focuses on the interface between systems, on a client-centered and problem-focused philosophy, and on an openness to multiple theories and approaches for improving people's well-being. Practice at the initial level requires a set of competencies necessary to provide services consistent with the understanding derived from the perspective. Advanced generalist social work represents increased complexity in the learning process and greater breadth and depth of exploration in a generalist perspective rather than a uniquely different perspective from the generalist approach.     

THE PROFESSIONAL FARMER

The Australian farmer faces important and interconnected management challenges on both the economic and ecological fronts. To confront these challenges effectively, farmers would be well advised to constitute themselves as a professional body along the lines of the Bar Association. Making farming a professional activity in this sense would provide a number of important benefits and advantages. It would facilitate the provision and delivery of the needed educational resources for economic and ecological land management, and help farmers avoid the pressures of heavy‐handed government centralism. At the same time, such professionalism would encourage more efficient use of sector resources by minimising the need for direct political lobbying and intra‐farm group competition for membership. As a professional body, farmers could hope for increased public standing and the economic clout that would come from having control over the supply of skilled land managers.