The Impact of Emotions on Practicum Learning

Nine mature aged, experienced practitioners enrolled to gain a BSW qualification in social work were interviewed regarding a course requirement to complete the first placement. At the time of interview no recognition of prior learning for previous experience in the field was made possible for these students. As educators we had experienced considerable hostility from students who believed they should be exempt from completing this course requirement. This paper reports on interviews with the nine students, where we consider how student sentiment about completing the practice learning component might impact upon their learning experience. As anticipated, some students expressed strong negative views about being on placement. However, others were much more positive about the experience. These mixed views prompted us to explore further the relationship between emotion and practice learning. The article begins with a review of the literature concerning mature student engagement with tertiary education, followed by an overview of theory and research related to the ways feelings and emotion influence learning. Using passages from the interviews, expressions of participant anxiety, anger and excitement about the practicum are discussed with the view to extending discourse about practicum learning to include consideration of emotional intelligence and investment.     

Gender and Aging in the Developing World: Where Are the Men?

In recent years, both population aging and gender issues have gained prominence in international forums concerned with population. It is frequently asserted or implied that older women are universally more vulnerable to social, economic, and health disadvantages than older men. The most significant manifestation of this exclusive concern with women when considering gender and aging is the Plan of Action adopted by the Second World Assembly on Aging in 2002. The assumed relative disadvantage of elderly women is commonly attributed to gender differences in earlier life experiences. But are older women truly disadvantaged globally with respect to all or most essential aspects of well‐being? The authors provide empirical evidence that clearly shows that older women are not invariably disadvantaged vis‐à‐vis men. In particular, they call into question the wisdom and equity of a virtually exclusive emphasis on the needs of women when incorporating gender concerns into policies and programs related to aging. A more balanced perspective that recognizes gender as a potential, but not necessarily central, marker of vulnerability for various aspects of well‐being in specific settings and times, and that allows for male as well as female disadvantage, would serve the current and future elderly generations far better.     

Funder‐initiated integration

The active role of funders in organizational restructuring and consolidation is becoming a more common area of study, because more funders—private and government funders alike—are moving in the direction of encouraging funded agencies to explore new strategies such as mergers and integrations. This research focuses on funder‐initiated nonprofit integration and explores the challenges and strategies demonstrated by a government grantor and nine funded agencies as they planned and developed a management service organization. This was an action research study, whereby all parties participated as co‐researchers to examine the integration challenges and the partnership strategies used to move the integration process forward.     

Latent transition models with latent class predictors: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes and high school marijuana use

Summary.  Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is most often diagnosed in childhood with symptoms often persisting into adulthood. Elevated rates of substance use disorders have been evidenced among those with ADHD, but recent research focusing on the relationship between subtypes of ADHD and specific drugs is inconsistent. We propose a latent transition model (LTM) to guide our understanding of how drug use progresses, in particular marijuana use, while accounting for the measurement error that is often found in self-reported substance use data. We extend the LTM to include a latent class predictor to represent empirically derived ADHD subtypes that do not rely on meeting specific diagnostic criteria. We begin by fitting two separate latent class analysis (LCA) models by using second-order estimating equations: a longitudinal LCA model to define stages of marijuana use, and a cross-sectional LCA model to define ADHD subtypes. The LTM model parameters describing the probability of transitioning between the LCA-defined stages of marijuana use and the influence of the LCA-defined ADHD subtypes on these transition rates are then estimated by using a set of first-order estimating equations given the LCA parameter estimates. A robust estimate of the LTM parameter variance that accounts for the variation due to the estimation of the two sets of LCA parameters is proposed. Solving three sets of estimating equations enables us to determine the underlying latent class structures independently of the model for the transition rates and simplifying assumptions about the correlation structure at each stage reduces the computational complexity.     

What types of occupations are women entering? : Determinants of changes in female representation: 1970–2000

Although a consistent body of research has demonstrated that occupational segregation is highly consequential for women's economic standing, we know little about the processes that contribute to changes in levels of sex segregation. In this study, we examine those factors that contribute to changes in the percent of women in detailed occupational categories in the United States. Since we are most concerned with the economic consequences of this type of segregation, we analyze a group of high-paying, male-dominated occupations that, if better integrated, would contribute most to earnings equality. We find that occupations to which relatively high percentages of women aspired and occupations that are growing have been experiencing above-average increases in the percentage of women, while occupations characterized by male-stereotyped task profiles have been witnessing below-average increases. Additionally, our results suggest the presence of a ceiling effect: it is easier for women to break into male-dominated occupations initially than to sustain growth. Our analysis suggests that both supply and demand-side explanations provide insight into the processes contributing to increases in the occupations that we examine, although it can be very difficult to distinguish between supply and demand-side elements; indeed they may occur simultaneously.     

Repairing the nest: A psychodynamic developmental approach to clients with severe behavior disorders

In this article, the authors explicate concepts from psychodynamic developmental theory that can foster affirmative assessment and intervention with clients who have developmental disabilities and present severe behavior disorders. A case example illustrates how making bonding the primary goal of intervention appears to facilitate positive behavior change in these clients while reducing feelings of helplessness and discouragement in their caregivers.     

The Career-Personal Dichotomy: Perceptual Reality,Practical Illusion,and Workplace Integration

The implicit definitions we give to career and personal counseling reflect a dichotomy between the two areas of research and practice. The field's research focus and counseling trainees' early practice experience probably reinforce the idea that career counseling is prototypically concerned with young adult career choice. A case study of targeted coaching in business is presented to illustrate how career and personal issues are intertwined in adult career adjustment.     

Who is responsible for household tasks in long term marriages of the “young-old” elderly?

Little is known about the way in which golden anniversary couples divide the responsibility for household tasks. This article examines the division of responsibility for 12 households tasks within a sample of 18 couples. At least one partner is under 75 years of age, the findings indicate that these young-old couples have developed interdependent, gender differentiated divisions of household tasks, although they share several tasks. There is congruence between what they expect and how they actually divide the responsibility for household tasks.     

朱力把先进的经验带回自己的国家

辽宁大学国际教育学院的留学生朱力·布莱玛来自非洲西部的塞拉利昂,说着一口流利汉语的朱力感到,会说汉语对他来说很自豪.他说, "有一次回国,在自己的家乡与中国人用中文交谈,中国人听我说汉语感到很吃惊,同时也感到非常亲切,我的塞拉利昂朋友听我与中国人用中文交流,更是羡慕极了,说我真棒,听到赞赏当然高兴,这也激励了我要把中文学好."     

Co‐production,governance and practice: The dynamics and effects of User Voice Prison Councils

Drawing on Bevir's (2013) decentered theory of governance, and Donati's (2016) theory of the relational subject, this article explores how User Voice Prison Councils in England have contributed to shifts in aspects of prison governance and practice. It discusses the cultural and policy context in which the Councils emerged and operate before exploring their perceived purposes, dynamics, and effects. User Voice Prison Councils represent an important example of different actors co‐producing alternative patterns of governance through innovations in democratic participation. Interviews with Prison Council participants, User Voice and prison staff revealed that the development of such “bottom–up” participatory governance practices require and restore interpersonal trust, the mechanisms of which are interactions underpinned by a distinct manner of relating and the establishment of a network of relations oriented to the common good. The effects include enhanced institutional legitimacy; improvements in prison officer‐prisoner relations; and greater quality of life for prisoners. Revealing the “how” of co‐production, from the “inside”, the argument advanced here is that while the effects of co‐production may be more ameliorative than transformative, such collaborative and dialogic approaches can enable differently situated people to forge new norms of interactions and forms of democratic participation to achieve collective goals.