A personal View of our History to 1988: Family Therapy in Australia

Written in 1998, this paper is my perspective on the history of Family Therapy in Australia. It is written from my position as one who has been privileged to be a part of that history and to have my own professional and personal development intertwined with it. The perspective I offer here is entirely my own.     

Professional Power and Managerial Control: The Case of GP Assessments of the Over-75S

The creation of Family Health Services Authorities from the old Family Practitioner Committees in 1990 marked a turning point in the introduction of managerialism into primary health care services. One of the FHSAs' first responsibilities was the administration of a new Contract for General Practitioners, which had generated considerable opposition from within the profession. This Contract included a new requirement for GPs to make, each year, a written offer of a health check, at home, to all patients aged 75 and over. Particular scepticism was expressed by GPs about the value and effectiveness of routine annual assessments's of this kind. Drawing on interviews with FHSA managers and their professional medical and nursing advisors, this paper examines the strategies adopted by FHSAs in tackling the administration of this particularly controversial requirement. Although apparently effective in the short-term, the paper concludes that these strategies may have considerable longer-term short-comings. The constraints and pressures experienced by FHSAs and the strategies employed to deal with them provide a useful insight into the tensions generated in the course of developing a managerial relationship with professional practitioners who have traditionally enjoyed very high levels of autonomy and independence.     

Empowering Rural Sociology: Exploring and Linking Alternative Paradigms in Theory and Methodology1

Abstract Theoretical and methodological approaches to rural social change are explored, especially those that give visibility to the range of heterogeneous experiences and perspectives that often are overlooked or ignored. Theoretical developments in postmodern, narrative, and feminist theory are described as are the methodological approaches they imply. Examples of research on rural social change that attempt to integrate theory and methods in ways that respect the complicated, processual nature of social life are discussed. They provide concrete illustrations of how alternative approaches can be fruitfully applied to some of the issues and problems rural sociologists typically study.     

American Indian Ethnic Identity: Tribal Nonresponse in the 1990 Census*

Objectives. About 11 percent of American Indians did not report their tribal affiliation on the 1990 U.S. Census form. I use several theoretical perspectives as tools to explore the reasons behind this surprising omission. Method. Logistic regression analysis is the method employed. Results. American Indians living with someone who speaks an American Indian language are very likely to report a tribal affiliation, as are those living in “Indian states” (states with historically high numbers of American Indians). Those who are least likely to report a tribal affiliation are Hispanic women with low education who report no American Indian ancestry, do not live with other American Indians, and live in a metropolitan area of a “non‐Indian state.” Conclusions. Lack of knowledge of family history appears to be one of the primary causes of tribal nonresponse. Salience of tribal identity also affects responses.     

Preparing College Health Professionals to Deliver Gay-Affirmative Services

Abstract

On every campus, there may be many gay students, faculty, and staff who might benefit from medical and mental health services sensitively developed as an integral part of the range of health services provided to the total campus. It is crucial to develop a cadre of providers from different disciplines who have a knowledge of gay lifestyles, developmental issues, and societal pressures. Staff must develop or heighten sometimes painful self-awareness engendered by empathic identification with a stigmatized minority. They must also conceptualize homosexuality as a relationship preference or lifestyle choice and appreciate the importance of same-sex attachments in normal development.

This paper reviews common presenting themes of gay patients and clients who rarely come for help to change their preference. The effects of homophobia on staff practices and attitudes are reviewed in the context of learned negative stereotyping in the larger culture. Heterophobic expectations of potential gay consumers are explored, including those of being diagnosed as deviant, mentally ill, or arrested libidinally. Suggestions are offered for the design and marketing of collaborative gay-nongay services and for service to older hidden populations. Individuals are encouraged to examine their own relationships to homosexuality and to experience new learning through enriched encounters with gays.     

Regulating Small and Medium Charities: Does It Improve Transparency and Accountability?

Internationally, there has been a steady increase in the number of countries instigating charity regulation. Public interest theory suggests that regulation increases organisational transparency through reducing information asymmetry, protects (or encourages) a competitive market, and leads to a distribution of resources which is in the public interest. While these arguments may explain charity regulation, the cost of compliance can be an issue for small- and medium-sized charities. Therefore, regulators tend to take a light-handed approach to small and medium charities’ information provision. This paper ascertains the impact of a light-handed enforcement regime on small and medium charities’ reporting, analysing the financial reporting practices of a selection of 300 small- and medium-sized charities registered with the former New Zealand Charities Commission against the Charities Act 2005 requirements and hence the rationale for this regulator. It uses this analysis to predict how the regulator’s activities might impact future reporting practices of charities.