A Consumer Study of Young People's Views on their Educational Social Worker: Engagement as a Measure of an Effective Relationship

Correspondence to Colin Pritchard, Mental Health Group, University of Southampton, Royal South Hants Hospital, Brintons Terrace, Southampton, SO14 0YG, UK. Summary This, the first ever consumer study of education social workers(ESWs), uses qualitative material and quantitative analysisby examining the views of 110 users of a county ESW service.Most pupils belonged to families with long-standing disadvantage;e.g. 53 per cent had unemployed fathers; over 70 per cent hadparents with disturbed personal and social relationships, 39per cent had a single parent; 30 per cent plus had mental healthproblems; and 10 per cent of parents had been in care as children,i.e. more than ten times the national average. The young people also had considerable disruption in their lives:for example 78 per cent frequently missed school; over 50 percent had school and peer difficulties; 30 per cent offended;over 30 per cent experienced bullying; 5 per cent were the subjectof child protection enquiries, 10 per cent had previously beenin care and 2 per cent had had an incident of ‘attemptedsuicide’ (50 times the national rate). They averaged sixmajor difficulties each. Despite these antecedents, 91 per cent of the young people demonstratedan ‘engaged’ relationship with their social worktrained ESW, with many examples of practical psychosocial helpbeing received. The concept of ‘engaged’ was statisticallyvalidated in the comparison of views between the ‘engaged’and ‘non-engaged’ research participants. The resultsindicate the value and effectiveness of a supportive rapport/relationshipas a vehicle to reach and to be of practical assistance to disturbedand disturbing young people.     

From Inclusive Policy to the Exclusive Real World: an international review

The characteristics of policy in special education are examined in a number of international settings via an analysis of policy documents and commentaries on policy implementation. Through a constant comparative method a number of 'ideal types' are identified which characterise policy and exemplify the problems involved in the realisation of policy, particularly when that policy is progressive and especially when it promotes inclusive principles. Tensions particularly emerge between the interests of administrative and professional groups on the one side and the deprofessionalising, devolutionary pressures inherent in inclusion on the other. The types are used to analyse specific policy initiatives in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.     

Taking a Position: A Reinterpretation of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

This paper examines methodological issues associated with the theory of planned behaviour and explains that an alternative account of data used to support this theory can be provided by positioning theory. A case is presented that shows tests of the theory of planned behaviour fail to eliminate the possibility of alternative explanations for co-variation in its data. An agency or person-centered alternative shows how a causal interpretation can be reinterpreted as evidence of the actions of a person. Unlike the conceptualisation of the individual as behaving in keeping with postulated underlying cognitive laws or rules we assume that the person has, through socialisation, acquired the skills necessary to initiate and manage their own actions. Unlike the interest in TPB data as a causal explanation of action we draw attention to the interpretation of patterns in these data as an aggregate of each person using a common mode of explanation to justify and explain their intentions.     

The Identification of Self

The approach is by a winding road about nine miles long, boldly cut out of the rock … the road comes to an end in front of a long underground passage leading into the mountain, enclosed by a heavy double door of bronze. At the far end of the underground passage a wide lift, panelled with sheets of copper, awaits the visitor. Through a vertical shaft of 330 feet cut right through the rock, it rises up to the level of the Chancellor's [Hider's] dwelling place. Here is reached the astonishing climax. The visitor finds himself in a strong and massive building containing a gallery with Roman pillars, an immense circular hall with windows all around … It gives the impression of being suspended in space … The whole, bathed in the twilight of the autumn evening is grandiose, wild, almost hallucinating. The visitor wonders whether he is awake or dreaming.     

Stress and Coping in Social Workers: A Preliminary Investigation

Correspondence to Dr Paul Bennett, School of Psychology, University of Wales College of Cardiff, P.O. Box 901, Cardiff CF1 3YG. Summary Three groups of social workers (child, adult mental health orhandicap, elderly or physical handicap) completed a questionnaireexamining sources of stress, coping strategies, and stress outcomes(e.g. anxiety, depression). All respondents reported high levelsof stress, although stress resulting from factors intrinsicto the job, relationships with other people, and from the organizationalstructure were greatest among childcare workers. In addition,these workers reported greater emotional involvement with theirclients and higher levels of general anxiety and depression,as well as job related mental distress. The implications ofthese findings are discussed in relation to training, job designand support of social workers.     

Seven types of ambiguity

Theory and Society -     

SUPERSTITION IN THE HOUSING MARKET

We provide the first solid evidence that Chinese superstitious beliefs can have significant effects on house prices in a North American market with a large immigrant population. Using real estate data on close to 117,000 house sales, we find that houses with address number ending in “4” are sold at a 2.2% discount and those ending in “8” are sold at a 2.5% premium in comparison to houses with other addresses. These price effects are found either in neighborhoods with a higher than average percentage of Chinese residents, consistent with cultural preferences, or in repeated transactions, consistent with speculative behavior. (JEL D03, R2, Z1)     

ECONOMIC SEARCH: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

This paper presents results of experiments designed to test several of the hypotheses present in the theoretical literature on "optimal" economic search. First we test whether the subjects (searchers) actually search for wages in ways that are consistent with setting an optimal reservation wage. We then proceed to determine experimentally the effects of risk aversion, increased search costs, changes in risk (brought about by a mean-preserving transformation of the distribution of wage offers), the presence or absence of recall, the existence of a finite horizon, and the searcher's state of knowledge about the underlying distribution of wages. In general, we find that the searchers exhibit behavior that is consistent with that predicted by theory. Differences between risk neutral and risk averse searchers are found, and the responses of both groups to changes in search costs, in the degree of risk, or in the state of knowledge are consistent with theoretical predictions.