Alternative Service Delivery in Developing Countries: NGOs and Other Non-Profits in Urban Areas

This paper examines NGOs and other non-profits (NONPROs) as alternatives to government service-delivery in developing urban areas. Reconfiguration is suggested in a three-way ironic triangle including host governments and external donors. Examples are given as well as requisites for strengthening of NONPROs. Service-provision will become increasingly indigenous and bottom-up if cooptation can be avoided and NONPROs can increase their capacities.     

Commodity chains,foreign investment and labour issues in Eastern Europe

In terms of ownership and operations, many companies in Eastern Europe have now been integrated into the world economy. In this article, informed in part by a critical engagement with the Global Commodity Chains (GCC) perspective, we explore the nature and significance of international linkages among firms in Eastern Europe. In particular, we argue that it has been the legacies of the state socialist past embedded in the inherited macro‐ and microeconomic structures, on the one hand, and the strategies of multinational firms on the other, rather than the international linkages in any simple sense, that have been the main influencing factors. While we do not deny the existence of inter‐firm relations similar to the ones described in the GCC literature, we point out that these relationships are much more complex than assumed in that approach and that this complexity is a product of the very different historical backgrounds and modes of incorporation into the world economy of the various Eastern European societies. Drawing on empirical evidence from Hungary and focusing specifically on employment and other labour issues, we argue that there are a variety of firm development paths in Eastern Europe and that these have differing implications for the integration of firms, regions and countries of Eastern Europe into the world economy.     

Attitudes To Marriage Among Young Tertiary–Educated Women

This study explores the attitudes to marriage and child-bearing held by women graduates born 1957–62. It is argued that this is a group of women for whom economic and cultural pressures to enter marriage are low, due to changes in social structures and the availability of a feminist philosophy that provides an alternative value system to patriarchy. With extrinsic pressures to marry so reduced, what factors determine the marriage and family decisions that they make? Interviews with a small sample of these women provide some strong pointers. Marriage at an appropriate age and to an appropriate partner was seen as providing substantially more benefits than costs. Delaying marriage until personal identity had been achieved was considered very important, with independent living, work and overseas travel contributing to identity formation. Supportiveness and egalitarianism were considered crucial qualities in a spouse, and those who were married had tended to marry men who were as or more ambitious for their wives than for themselves. An overall attitude of entitlement-with-organisation emerged. The increase in socioeconomic differences among women-in-their-own-right is discussed.     

It takes a village to raise a child: A model of training for prevention of youth abuse of alcohol and other drugs

Regional Prevention Centers in Massachusetts established a training of trainers model to help communities prevent youth from the early use of alcohol and other drugs. The curriculum, called It Takes a Village to Raise a Child, teaches interested adults about prevention, empowers them to be positive role models, and helps them teach children skills that will strengthen resistance to alcohol and other drugs. The success of the program lies in its egalitarian climate for learning, its adaptability to different problems and populations, and its enhancement of communities' sense of responsibility for all children.Assistant Professor, Simmons College, School of Social Work.     

Exploring the Latent Structures of Psychological Constructs in Social Development Using the Dimensional–Categorical Spectrum

This paper provides an introduction to a recently developed conceptual framework—the dimensional–categorical spectrum—for utilizing general factor mixture models to explore the latent structures of psychological constructs. This framework offers advantages over traditional latent variable models that usually employ either continuous latent factors or categorical latent class variables to characterize the latent structure and require an a priori assumption about the underlying nature of the construct as either purely dimension or purely categorical. The modeling process is discussed in detail and then illustrated with data on the delinquency items of Achenbach's child behavior checklist from a sample of children in the National Adolescent and Child Treatment Study.     

Women and technology: A review of training initiatives

Abstract

This paper considers the entry of women into technological areas of work, their subsequent career progression and return to work after a career break. It considers the development of those training programmes and related initiatives which have attempted to encourage girls and young women to enter non-traditional areas of work, and others which help women return to work after a career break. It emphasizes that such training needs to address the psychological and social issues which arise, as well as provide for new technical knowledge and skills. In doing so it reviews some of the courses which are currently available and comments on their apparent success. In its concluding problems it refers to the on-going problem of funding such training and of providing a supportive database.     

History of the Care of Displaced Children in Korea

The present article explores the current nature and history of welfare provision for displaced children in Korea. It examines the early examples of care and the perspectives on the issue from scholars, lawmakers, religion and society as a whole. This provides an understanding of the background and, especially, the cultural roots of existing care. A history of what may be considered the first modern displaced child welfare provision is also given with analysis of how Christian and local approaches and perceptions integrated. This was to form the basis for present-day transitional displaced child welfare in Korea. For this reason, the article examines the provision in a paradigm which looks at the provision as responses to Western influences. Features of congregate care, domestic/international adoptions, foster care and youth-headed households are examined. The authors conclude that global forces will continue to be influential and recommends that religious institutions which have thus far provided crucial contributions to the foundation of care should continue to play key roles with the government's facilitation. The need for wide participation from society and coordination from the government to manage systems, develop strategies and build consensus is highlighted.