Polynesian child rearing: An alternative model

Literature on child-rearing practices and family style in Polynesia is reviewed. The five following themes common to Polynesian cultures are identified: community responsibility for the care of children, multiple parenting, early indulgence, early independence, and caretaking by siblings and peers. The persistence of, and changes in, the behavior patterns which flow from these themes are then described. Finally, the implications for Western child-rearing practices of Polynesian child-rearing patterns are discussed.     

The future of grand challenges research: Retiring a hopeful concept and endorsing research principles

Editorial notes in leading management journals have urged scholars to address Grand Challenges (GC) as an opportunity for producing knowledge that matters for society. This review explores whether current conceptualizations of GC support a productive path for management and organizational scholarship by guiding empirical inquiry, facilitating cumulative theory development, and informing practice. We systematically examine scholarly articles, calls for papers, and editorial notes published in management journals for consistency in how researchers use and define the concept of GC and the scope of associated phenomena and attributes. We find three prominent conceptual architectures in use: discursive, family resemblance, and phenomenon driven. The variety and incoherence of current uses of the GC concept and the lack of efforts to improve its analytical competence lead us to suggest its retirement. Instead, we propose building on the enthusiasm around GC research and using GC as a term to define research principles that collectively help align research efforts and improve theoretical development and practice. The principles we propose capture a genuine origin story for management research on GC.     

Contextualizing mistreatment in cognitive impairment in Latin America

Mistreatment is an important social outcome of the growing cognitive impairment epidemic, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to bring to light what is known about mistreatment in cognitively impaired individuals in Latin American Countries. We identified a gap in the literature on this topic that opens the door for future research.     

SBIRT Training in Social Work Education: Evaluating Change Using Standardized Patient Simulation

A grand challenge for social work is addressing widespread public health problems of alcohol misuse. MSW students (n = 83) received Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) training through didactic sessions, role plays, and pre–post videotaped standardized patient (SP) interactions. SBIRT knowledge, self-reported practice behaviors, and confidence were assessed at pretest, 30 days, and 6 months posttest. Videos were coded to assess intervention-adherent behaviors. General linear mixed models analyzed changes. Participants demonstrated increased adherence to SBIRT behaviors, and knowledge, skills, and confidence increased posttraining. Findings suggest SBIRT training increases students’ capacity to implement evidence-based interventions designed to reduce alcohol misuse.     

What Shall We Call Ourselves? Last Names Among Lesbian,Gay, and Heterosexual Couples and Their Adopted Children

ABSTRACT

Choices of last names for both adults and children are important family decisions that are often made upon marriage or upon the birth of a child. The gendered nature of such choices among heterosexual populations is well known, but they have not been widely studied among lesbian or gay populations. We studied selection of last names among 106 adoptive families—27 headed by lesbian couples, 29 headed by gay couples, and 50 headed by heterosexual couples—all of whom had adopted children at birth or in the first weeks of life. Whether in selection of last names for adults or for children, we found that heterosexual adoptive couples were more likely than lesbian and gay adoptive couples to follow patronymic conventions. Thus, heterosexual parents and their children were most likely to have identical last names. For lesbian and gay couples, in contrast, the most common scenario was for both adults to retain last names given to them at birth and hyphenate them to create last names for their children. Parents in lesbian and gay couples offered more detailed explanations of their choices than did those in heterosexual couples. Explanations offered by heterosexual parents were most likely to refer to tradition, but those given by same-sex parents were more likely to mention egalitarian or practical considerations. Overall, we found that same-sex and other-sex couples took very different approaches to the problem of naming themselves and their children.     

Promoting low-income preschoolers’ school readiness through a text messaging intervention

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of a language-rich math content text message intervention as a way to promote child literacy outcomes for children enrolled in 15 Head Start centers participating in Jumpstart. Two-hundred and fifty-eight families were randomly assigned to treatment (language-rich math text) or control (information about kindergarten enrollment) conditions. Families received text messages in English, Spanish, or written Chinese. Parents reported on children’s fall entry skills and family demography. Teachers reported on children’s interest in math and literacy. Children were directly assessed on literacy skills to determine if the language-rich math content increased literacy skills. Structural equation models reveal no main effects for the sample of 258, but subgroup analyses by language show intervention effectiveness. For families receiving text messages in English, effectiveness depended on children’s fall letter and shape knowledge for increasing phonological awareness (English). The intervention appears most effective for Spanish-speaking families by increasing children’s math and literacy interest, definitional vocabulary, and print knowledge. Limitations and finding implications are discussed.     

Documents as ‘risky’ sources of data: a reflection on social and emotional positioning – a research note

As units of analysis, documents are often seen as unproblematic, easily accessed sources of data. This research note discusses and reflects on a research project where documents were not easy to access and instead prompted significant negotiation, contained disturbing information and images and had an emotional impact on the researcher. A reflexive account is provided in this paper, which draws upon feminist methodological theory and explores the researcher’s experiences of using documents in research. The paper concludes that documents should not always be categorised as a low risk data source, rather issues such as access difficulties, ethical dilemmas and potential emotional harm, should also be considered.     

Sexual Cognition Guides Viewing Strategies to Human Figures

Gaze patterns to figure images have been proposed to reflect the observer's sexual interest, particularly for men. This eye-tracking study investigated how individual differences in sexual motivation tendencies are manifested in naturalistic gaze patterns. Heterosexual men and women (M = 21.0 years, SD = 2.1) free-viewed plain-clothed male and female figures, aged 10, 20, and 40 years old, while their eye movements were recorded. Questionnaires were used to measure sexual cognitions, including sensation seeking and sexual compulsivity, sexual inhibition and excitation, and approach and avoidance responses to sexual stimuli. Our analysis showed a clear role of sexual cognitions in influencing gaze strategies for men. Specifically, men who scored higher on sexual compulsivity dedicated more gaze to the waist–hip region when viewing figures of their preferred sexual partners than men who scored lower on sexual compulsivity. Women's sexual cognitions showed no clear effect on the gaze pattern in viewing figures of their preferred age and gender of sexual partners, suggesting women's gaze is unlikely to be a straightforward reflection of their sexual preferences. The findings further suggest that men's gaze allocation is driven by sexual preferences and supports the utility of eye tracking in the assessment of male sexual interest.     

The Social Worker's Role in Serving Vulnerable Athletes

Athletes are a population group with unique vulnerabilities whose social work-related needs are often not met. Because of the perception that they are young and healthy, athletes are seen as free from mental health challenges and social problems. Yet athletes are at high risk for distress due to pressures to perform, avoid showing pain, hide physical injuries and substance abuse problems, eating disorders and burnout. At the same time, they may have false support systems that are interested in the athlete for social or monetary status. Social workers are broad systems practitioners who can focus on how the environment and other influences affect an athlete's mental health and well-being. Because social workers are strengths-based, they can assist athletes in achieving their highest level of functioning on and off the playing field.