Women who sacrifice themselves for everybody: qualitative research with mothers of disabled children

This study, from a feminist perspective, aimed at examining the experiences of women whose children with cerebral palsy received a treatment at a physiotherapy and rehabilitation center located in Ankara, Turkey. The study intended to reveal the perceptions of in-family roles of women with disabled children, their participation in public life, and their self-concept within the scope of feminist social work. Thus, the objective of the present study was to contribute to the understanding of the fact that non gender-blind services should be developed in this field on the basis of social justice and human rights, which constitutes the fundamental philosophy of social work. Qualitative research method was employed in the study where data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings of the study were interpreted under four main themes: the lives of the women with disabled children after their disabled children were born; being a woman within the scope of family life, participation in decision-making processes, and domestic division of labor; participation in public life and relations with women's associations; the self-sacrifice; and the suggestions of women concerning self-realization within the scope of self-concept.     

The effects of teenage childbearing on long-term health in the US: a twin-fixed-effects approach

This paper explores the effect of teenage childbearing on long-term health outcomes and behaviors of mothers using the Midlife Development in the US dataset. Within-family estimations, using samples of siblings, and twin pairs, are employed to overcome the bias generated by unobserved family background and genetic traits. The results suggest no significant effects on health outcomes, and modest effects on health behaviors, including exercise and preventive care. However, accounting for life-cycle effects demonstrates that teenage childbearing has significant effects on both health outcomes and behaviors early in life, but very few significant effects later in life. Moreover, teenage childbearing has a particularly acute effect among minorities. Finally, this paper provides evidence that the effects operate through reduced income and labor force participation, and matching with a lower “quality” spouse.     

Mediation Role of Dyadic Coping on Parenting Stress and Relational Resilience in Couples

This study aims to explore the mediating role of dyadic coping between relational resilience and parenting stress on married couples. The study participants comprised 229 married couples with at least one child and who have had a major life event. The relational resilience scale, parenting stress inventory, dyadic coping scale and personal information, and life events forms were used to collect data for this study. Data were analyzed with the actor–partner interdependence mediation model. The results revealed that dyadic coping actor–partner effects did not mediate between relational resilience and parenting stress. The results were discussed in relation to the social-ecological model and relevant literature. Based on the current findings, recommendations and implications for further research and practice were also proposed.     

W(h)ither the academy? An exploration of the role of university social work in shaping the future of social work in Europe

A controversial proposal to pilot the training of child protection social workers through an intensive work-based route in England is being supported and funded by the UK Government. Frontline, the brainchild of a former teacher, locates social work training within local authorities (‘the agency’) rather than university social work departments (‘the academy’) and has stimulated debate amongst social work academics about their role in shaping the direction of the profession. As a contribution to this debate, this paper explores the duality of social work education, which derives its knowledge from both the academic social sciences and the experience of practice within social work agencies. While social work education has traditionally been delivered by the academy, this paper also explores whether the delivery of training in the allied professions of probation and nursing by ‘the agency’ is equally effective. Finally, this paper explores the Helsinki model which achieves a synergy of ‘academy’ and ‘agency’. It suggests that there are alternative models of social work education, practice and research which avoid dichotomies between the ‘academy’ and the ‘agency’ and enable the profession to be shaped by both social work academics and practitioners.     

Introduction: international academic mobility and inequalities

ABSTRACT

Higher education is one of the social fields where inequalities are produced and reproduced. Nevertheless, we still know very little about the ways in which heterogeneities and inequalities have been experienced and interpreted by those involved in international academic mobility. In this introductory editorial, we consider some of the crucial conceptual issues involved in the study of the nexus between inequalities and international academic mobility. First, we argue that it is important to take manifold inequalities into account when examining this nexus. After all, inequalities can be detected at different levels, and the mobility process is structured around multiple heterogeneities rather than by a single one. Second, we discuss how international academic mobility and inequalities attached to it go beyond nation-state borders. Third, we argue it is beneficial to extend the scope of to the mobility process as a whole, as inequalities in opportunities and outcomes are intrinsically connected.     

Knowledge and opinions of families regarding games—Toy selection for 6 to 12 year old children (the case of Northern Cyprus)

Games and toys are irreplaceable basic needs of children of almost every age. They are also some of the most significant traces of culture. Some of our games and toys lost their original functions, and it is not remembered why they were functionally significant in Turkish Cypriot culture. Families and cultural identity also play a major role regarding different factors leading to changes in toy selection. The purpose of this study is to explore the knowledge and opinions of families regarding games and, in particular, toy selection for 6–12 year old children of Turkish Cypriot families. A survey was administered to 100 households in North Cyprus, and was used as a data collection tool. It was found that the most important factors in the selection of children’s games and toys were (1) the economic opportunities, and (2) children’s desires for toys after seeing them with their friends. A considerable number of families in Northern Cyprus see game-toy selection as important in a child’s social, psychomotor, mental, and cultural construction. Families, especially those living with difficulties, indicated that they cannot afford enough time to encourage playing traditional games. Although new versions of traditional games and toys are being developed and used, it is seen that educated and high-income families are more conscious about the importance of having information about them than others.     

The effect of different data structures,sample sizes on model fit measures

In this study, our aim was to investigate the changes of different data structures and different sample sizes on the structural equation modeling and the influence of these factors on the model fit measures. Examining the created structural equation modeling under different data structures and sample sizes, the evaluation of model fit measures were performed with a simulation study. As a result of the simulation study, optimization and negative variance estimation problems have been encountered depending on the sample size and changing correlations. It was observed that these problems disappeared either by increasing the sample size or the correlations between the variables in factor. For upcoming studies, the choice of RMSEA and IFI model fit measures can be suggested in all sample sizes and the correlation values for data sets are ensured the multivariate normal distribution assumption.     

Economic Adversity and Voter Turnout: Evidence from Turkish Parliamentary Elections

Social Indicators Research - This paper investigates the relationship between economic adversity and voter participation in Turkish parliamentary elections. We employ a dynamic model of voter...     

MAP segmentation in Bayesian hidden Markov models: a case study

We consider the problem of estimating the maximum posterior probability (MAP) state sequence for a finite state and finite emission alphabet hidden Markov model (HMM) in the Bayesian setup, where both emission and transition matrices have Dirichlet priors. We study a training set consisting of thousands of protein alignment pairs. The training data is used to set the prior hyperparameters for Bayesian MAP segmentation. Since the Viterbi algorithm is not applicable any more, there is no simple procedure to find the MAP path, and several iterative algorithms are considered and compared. The main goal of the paper is to test the Bayesian setup against the frequentist one, where the parameters of HMM are estimated using the training data.     

Parental Support for Basic Psychological Needs and Happiness: The Importance of Sense of Uniqueness

Past empirical research relying on self-determination theory (SDT) has consistently shown that parental support of basic psychological needs (BPN) is associated with adolescent happiness. Yet, the specific mechanisms accounting for this link are still undetermined. The present study aimed to address this gap in the literature by testing a theoretical model proposing that adolescents’ satisfaction of BPN in life and sense of uniqueness mediate the association of parental support for BPN and happiness. The analyses relied on structural equation modeling and bootstrapping procedures and found support for the model. The theoretical implications of the model for SDT and applied considerations to improve the well-being of adolescents are discussed. Also, suggestions for future research that could further improve our understanding of the dynamic interplay between BPN, sense of uniqueness and happiness are presented.