Experiences of Family Therapists Working with Families in a Transitional Homeless Community

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and observations of marriage and family therapists (MFTs) conducting an empirically supported parenting program at a transitional homeless community. A diary method was used in recording five MFTs' observations and reactions to implementing the psychoeducational groups. Fifty‐one recordings were collected from three different parenting groups over the course of 20 weeks. Constant comparative method was used to identify themes related to MFTs' experiences of conducting the parenting program. These themes included the needs of at‐risk families, confidentiality, and role ambivalence and boundary ambiguity. We provide recommendations for best practices and an example of therapists' decision‐making process using Kitchener's (1984) model.     

Types of Workplace Social Support in the Prediction of Job Satisfaction

Research on social support and job satisfaction has yielded mixed results, partly because studies have rarely examined different types of workplace social support, such as collegial support, task support, coaching, and career mentoring. This study identified the relative contributions of different types of social support to job satisfaction and explored the relationship between social support and job tenure. Overall, social support accounted for approximately 17% of the variance in job satisfaction and 9% of the variance in job tenure. Career mentoring and task support were the types of social support most predictive of job satisfaction. Coaching and task support were the types of social support most predictive of job tenure.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Titelman, P. (Ed.). (1998). Clinical applications of Bowen family systems theory.
Mogel, W. (2001). The blessing of a skinned knee: Using Jewish teachings to raise self-reliant children.
McGuire, D. K., & McGuire, D. E. (2001). Linking parents to play therapy: A practical guide with applications, interventions, and case studies.
Higgins, G. O. (1994). Resilient adults: Overcoming a cruel past.
Christensen, A., & Jacobson, N. S. (2000). Reconciable differences.     

ICT and institutional change at the British Library

The new information and communications technologies (ICTs) have stimulated a wide-ranging debate on the future of learning institutions in the age of the 'network society'. Recent academic commentary has tended to equate globalized information networks with commodification, the delocalization of learning, and threats to the public service traditions of higher education. This paper investigates the extensive programme of digitisation now under way at the British Library (BL), one of the world's largest knowledge providers and a key player in the UK research libraries network. The findings presented in the paper do not reflect the belief that the spread of global information networks will undermine the public service remit of large knowledge providers such as the BL - but the evidence does show that these providers are becoming more connected to other players in the digital environment, with inherently complex, and potentially far-reaching implications for the production of knowledge in the emergent 'network society'.     

VIRTUAL LEARNING AND THE NETWORK SOCIETY

A wide variety of organizational structures and technologies are associated with the 'virtual campus'. This paper compares the UK's two largest distance learning initiatives: the Open University (OU) and the University for Industry (UfI). The comparison suggests four alternative approaches to 'virtualization' and shows that debate has often under-estimated the variety of possible approaches. The relationship between ICTs, knowledge and organizational structure is complex, reflecting a diversity of values and rationalities embodied by learning institutions.     

What Can Interactionism Contribute to the Study of Inequality? The Case of Marriage and Beyond

The equality/inequality dichotomy is a central concept in sociology and in the study of marriage. Almost all researchers, though, use their own preconceived definitions and measurement strategies to identify equal and unequal states of affairs. An alternative approach, one that better accords with interactionist principles, is to privilege people's interpretations of equality over analysts' Drawing on interviews with individuals who define their own marriages as equal or unequal, I compare people's stories about marital equality with scholars' depictions. While some narratives resonate (in part) with the themes propounded by scholars, others do not. If people's experiences of equality and inequality are to be taken seriously, then it is important to listen to what they have to say on the subject, as well as to how they say it. This is the distinctive contribution symbolic interactionists can make to the study of inequality.     

This Charity Business: Who Cares?

In her inaugural lecture at the Aston Business School in Birmingham, England, presented here in an edited version, Margaret Harris looks at the contributions of the voluntary and charity sector to individual lives and to our society. She examines the distinctive features of voluntary organizations and outlines the threats currently facing them. She argues that universities have an important role to play in ensuring the survival of the voluntary sector, the accumulation of “social capital,” and the maintenance of “civil society.”     

The Uphill Struggle: services for Deaf and hard of hearing people - issues of equality, participation and access

This article focuses upon the ways in which Deaf and hard of hearing people are excluded from participation in society. In particular, the focus is upon the ordinary expectations that members of society have in terms of participating as citizens and performing socially sanctioned, adult roles. The roles of 'citizen', 'employee', 'parent' and 'patient' are discussed. The data illustrate how the organisation and delivery of services can undermine, rather than facilitate, the performance of these roles. Despite policy emphasis on social inclusion, current services and legislation fail to provide a firm basis for the full participation of Deaf and hard of hearing people in British society.     

F. W. Taylor and the legacies of systemization

F. W. Taylor (1856-1915) is a seminal figure in the history of industrial society and a key reference point for the study of technology, work and the organization of production. This paper locates Taylor's work in the broad historical development of formal systems and 'rational' management. The paper notes the historical continuities that link the 'technologies of control' which emerged in US industry during Taylor's lifetime and those which appear in contemporary work organizations. This is counterpoised with recent comment on the information technology and the 'end' of Taylorist work practices.     

Romantic Relationships among Immigrant Adolescents1

We examine the importance of the family and friendship group as two crucial developmental contexts for adolescent relationship experiences. We focus particularly on immigrant adolescents who make up an increasing proportion of the youth population and who come from cultural contexts with stronger family traditions than native‐born adolescents.  Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we model the characteristics associated with having romantic relationships and participating in sex‐related activities within relationships for immigrant adolescents, children of immigrants and adolescents in native‐born families.  First generation adolescents are less likely to enter romantic relationships than adolescents in native‐born families, but those who do participate engage in similar sex‐related activities as native‐born youth.  This evidence suggests that immigrant youth who enter romantic relationships are selective of the more assimilated to native adolescent norms of heterosexual behavior.  The peer group is especially important for immigrant adolescents because it provides opportunities for romantic relationship involvement.