Multiple family groups: an engaging intervention for child welfare-involved families

Differences between child welfare- and non-child welfare-involved families regarding barriers to child mental health care, attendance, program satisfaction, and relationship with facilitators are examined for a multiple family group service delivery model aimed at reducing childhood disruptive behaviors. Although child welfare-involved caregivers reported more treatment barriers and less program satisfaction than non-child-welfare-involved families, no significant differences exist between groups on average total sessions attended and attendance rates over time.     

The estimation of gross flows in the presence of measurement error using auxiliary variables

Classification error can lead to substantial biases in the estimation of gross flows from longitudinal data. We propose a method to adjust flow estimates for bias, based on fitting separate multinomial logistic models to the classification error probabilities and the true state transition probabilities using values of auxiliary variables. Our approach has the advantages that it does not require external information on misclassification rates, it permits the identification of factors that are related to misclassification and true transitions and it does not assume independence between classification errors at successive points in time. Constraining the prediction of the stocks to agree with the observed stocks protects against model misspecification. We apply the approach to data on women from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with three categories of labour force status. The model fitted is shown to have interpretable coefficient estimates and to provide a good fit. Simulation results indicate good performance of the model in predicting the true flows and robustness against departures from the model postulated.     

The Careers of Senior Men and Women – A Capabilities Theory Perspective

In this article we adopt a capabilities theory perspective to analyse 40 in-depth interviews (20 women, 20 men) exploring the careers of senior women and men in human resource management. Both groups felt driven by increasingly unconstrained demands of work, in the case of women paid and non-paid domestic work and for men primarily paid work, and perceptions of time autonomy (being able to exercise autonomy in allocating one's time) for both differed markedly. However, these senior women appeared to have negotiated a path which fitted with their realized functioning and quality of life goals and they measured success in their own terms. Senior men's working patterns and definitions of success remained largely traditional and for most the demands of work were dominant. However, there was evidence that male views were changing with some expressing a desire for a better balance with less time involved with work. Our findings highlight the importance of the family and we suggest that there is a need for the obligations of organizations in terms of their impact on the family unit to be stated and acted upon with the role of fathers as carers equally and explicitly expounded with that of mothers.     

Management regimes affect woody plant productivity and water use efficiency in an urban desert ecosystem

Woody plant productivity and water use were evaluated under various management regimes in the Central Arizona Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research study area during 1999–2003. Management was defined as alteration of plant density, irrigation of plants, and removal of plant biomass via pruning. In a ground survey of 204 randomly chosen sites woody plant canopy area (CA) was higher in developed plots than in desert plots. Highest CA was measured in single family residential (SFR) sites but did not differ from most other developed site types. In experimental plots modeled after local SFR sites whole plot above ground biomass production (PP) and leaf area (LA) were higher and water use efficiency (WUE) was lower under high irrigation rate relative to low irrigation rate. Shrub pruning affected whole plot LA but not PP or WUE. Plant gas exchange data were used in conjunction with a trapezoidal integration model to predict maximum plant carbon uptake for plants in desert sites or under various irrigation regimes. These data might be used to facilitate long term monitoring of plant productivity and water use in the study area and to establish sound management practices in urban and suburban environments.     

Changing structures: Necessary but not sufficient

Moves are afoot across the UK to change the mechanisms for managing local inter‐agency child protection policy and practice. This is being achieved through the development of Safeguarding Boards in England and Wales and guidance on Child Protection Committees that took effect from August 2005 in Scotland. Following our review of one Scottish Child Protection Committee (the SCPC), we are concerned that these changes focus almost exclusively on structure and pay scant attention to process and relationships. The study we undertook was an in‐depth evaluation of the functioning of the SCPC and used a range of qualitative methods. The main findings were that the size of the committee, its coverage of three local authority areas, and its patterns of working meant that some aspects of its work were highly developed and effective, such as the guidelines and multi‐agency training, while others, such as links with practice and the management of information systems, were poor. Considering these findings in the light of systems theory suggests that improving the effectiveness of child protection committees, and similar bodies, may need to be based on greater attention being paid to issues of authority, trust and negotiation among their members. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From aspiring presidential candidate to accidental racist? An analysis of Senator George Allen's image repair during his 2006 reelection campaign

This study analyzes how Senator Allen responded to the negative public relations incidents that occurred during his 2006 reelection campaign. Through a content analysis of Allen's media releases and interviews with Allen's communication staffers this study identifies Allen's image repair discourse strategies and tactics. This study also evaluates the effectiveness of these strategies and tactics through a content analysis of the newspaper coverage Finally, this study identifies three new image repair tactics.