Advertising a Particularly Precarious Occupation: Nanny Ads on Craigslist

Domestic work has long been a particularly precarious occupation in that it is subject to certain risks and vulnerabilities that make it a highly insecure, unstable, uncertain form of work that often provides very limited economic and social benefits to those who engage in it. In this article we explore whether employers are willing to advertise the particularly precarious aspects of domestic work in job advertisements for nannies. Based on a content analysis of nanny ads posted on the Craigslist pages for San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Chicago, we find that nearly half (45%) of the ads in our population contained an actual and/or potential indicator of one or more particularly precarious aspects of domestic work. While these indicators came in many specific forms, they can be grouped into two general categories: (1) ads that are actually or potentially discriminatory and (2) ads that indicate an employer may not see being a nanny as a “real” job.     

ACCESSING TRANSGENERATIONAL THEMES THROUGH DREAMWORK

This paper proposes the use of "dreamwork" to evoke historical patterns or transgenerational themes. A new variant of dreamwork is described. This work is systemic as well as symbolic, combining aspects of both Gestalt and Family System therapies. Two examples present this experiential exploration of recursive historical themes. The integration of these approaches is demonstrated. Implications of this therapeutic dramatization for couple therapy are suggested.     

A study of 185 foster children 5 years after placement

This study's findings are similar to those of other studies. The majority of children who enter foster care return to their families within a relatively short time. A small group, because of the severity of their problems or those of their parents, need extended care. This group of children, over time, form the hard core of foster care placements. Our findings also bear out those of others that the foster care experience is a relatively stable one for children, with the majority having one or two placements while in care. Clearly, the need for and use of foster care is frequently misunderstood. The methodology used in research studies has gradually improved, adding to objective knowledge about this aspect of the child welfare system. Longitudinal studies, such as Jenkins [1967], Fanshel and Shinn [1978], and the one reported here, point to the need for deeper, more refined studies that examine not only the going and coming of children in foster care but the professional service component that can make foster care a constructive experience for children placed in it. Meyer issued an intelligent and timely challenge to the field of child welfare to give up "debates about permanency" and, if it is not too late, to "retrieve child welfare from the control of lawyers and MBAs" [1984: 499]. If the profession of social work can more clearly define the components of foster care service and can differentiate among the children needing care those who can best be served by this type of placement, then the field will be well on its way to offering an appropriate service for certain children. Attempts to denigrate a potentially helpful service for needy children simply destroy one aspect of a complex system. A wide range of services is necessary to serve all children appropriately. Without this kind of continuum, children are more likely to receive inappropriate services and to be placed at risk.     

Lay Understanding of Synergistic Risk: The Case of Radon and Cigarette Smoking

The combination of radon and smoking produces a synergistic risk of lung cancer. Lay understanding of this risk was examined from the perspectives of mental models theory, the psychometric approach to risk perception, and optimistic bias. As assessed by interview, participants ( N = 50) had more extensive mental models for the risks of smoking than for the risks of radon or the combination of radon and smoking; 32% knew little or nothing about radon. Despite reading an informational brochure, their risk-perception ratings of the three hazards showed no perception of the synergy between smoking and radon risk, although the combined hazard was rated as less familiar but more controllable than the average of the single hazards ( p < .01). No evidence of optimistic bias for the health consequences of radon, or the combination of radon and smoking was observed. Participants appeared to be combining the single-hazard risks subadditively to arrive at their combined-hazard risk perceptions. Further research on the integration of perceived risks would be beneficial for designing optimal communications about synergistic risk.     

Asymptotic expansions of moments and cumulants

This paper shows how procedures for computing moments and cumulants may themselves be computed from a few elementary identities.Many parameters, such as variance, may be expressed or approximated as linear combinations of products of expectations. The estimates of such parameters may be expressed as the same linear combinations of products of averages. The moments and cumulants of such estimates may be computed in a straightforward way if the terms of the estimates, moments and cumulants are represented as lists and the expectation operation defined as a transformation of lists. Vector space considerations lead to a unique representation of terms and hence to a simplification of results. Basic identities relating variables and their expectations induce transformations of lists, which transformations may be computed from the identities. In this way procedures for complex calculations are computed from basic identities.The procedures permit the calculation of results which would otherwise involve complementary set partitions, k-statistics, and pattern functions. The examples include the calculation of unbiased estimates of cumulants, of cumulants of these, and of moments of bootstrap estimates.     

An exploratory study of substance abuse among Latino older adults

Substance abuse among older adults is on the rise. Of particular concern is the increase in alcohol and drug use predicted among Latino elders, expected to result from an upsurge in the Latino population and concurrent growth in the number of older adults. Providing effective treatment for this group will require age-specific, culturally competent interventions. However, few studies have focused on geriatric substance abuse among Latinos. This study aims to lay the groundwork for further research by examining perceptions of the problem among treatment providers and researchers in aging and substance abuse. Implications for social work research and practice are addressed.     

Developing measures of perceived life quality: Results from several national surveys

This report presents the current status of a series of studies oriented toward the assessment of perceived life quality. The conceptual model proposes that a person's overall sense of life quality is understandable as a combination of affective responses to life ‘domains’, which are of two types-role situations and values. Over 100 items used to measure a wide variety of domains and 28 items assessing perceived overall life quality are presented. Various subsets of these items were used in interviews with several representative samples of American adults. Based on these data the domain items were grouped into a smaller number of semi-independent clusters which were internally stable across 10 different subgroups of the respondents and whose interrelationships were highly replicable in independent national samples. A series of analyses, some replicated in more than one survey showed: (1) an additive combination of 12 selected domains explained 50–60% of the variance in an index of overall life quality, (2) neither other domains nor several social characteristic variables contributed additional explanatory power, (3) this level of explanation was achieved in each of 22 subgroups of the population, and (4) additive combinations of domains worked as well as more complicated combinations.     

Social and Health Service Use and Treatment Outcomes for Sexual Minorities in a National Sample of Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

This study examines substance use severity, levels of social and health service utilization, and the impact of service utilization on treatment outcomes for sexual minorities versus non-minorities. The sample included 3,094 clients from the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES). Substance use severity among sexual minorities and non-sexual minorities was similar at treatment entry and at 12 months post-discharge. Differences in social and health service utilization were significant for substance abuse counseling and health services. Significant interactions between sexuality and access services and sexuality and mental health services were also found. Practice and research implications are discussed.