‘Back to our Roots?’ Re-visiting psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in the education of student social workers

While there is a well-established literature on psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in social work education, little has been published recently. This paper reviews the rationale for its use, evaluating its impact on students’ learning in the light of contemporary policy and practice contexts facing social work education. Analysis of feedback gained from a recent cohort, identifies three ways in which learning through baby and young child observation contributes: firstly, students encounter and learn about the complexity of child development from the direct experience of observing and secondly, observing facilitates the development of important skills for practice; students’ ‘use of self’. Thirdly, through observing, students describe how they develop the capacity to take-up and sustain a professional role. Well-structured teaching and learning through observation is therefore shown to provide a rigorous, theoretically-grounded contribution to the training of university-based social work students entering this complex and challenging professional field.     

Governmentality within Children's Technological Play: Findings from a Critical Discourse Analysis

In many countries today, digital technology and instant communication are embedded in children's everyday lives to the extent that their play frequently incorporates smartphones, the Internet and other technologies. In this paper, we explore the recent historical conditions within the New Zealand context that have increased the accessibility of these technologies and imbued them with particular meanings. We suggest that from a Foucauldian perspective, these technologies can be seen as a form of subtle disciplinary power using techniques of governmentality through which children's ways of thinking are shaped to benefit societal requirements of the current historical era.     

Manufacturing Proactiveness and Performance*

Since Skinner's [40] landmark article depicting the manufacturing function as the “missing link” in corporate strategic processes, a portion of the blame for inferior performance in many firms has been attributed to the subordinate strategic position of manufacturing. It has been argued that part of the solution to misalignments between the capabilities possessed by manufacturing and the requirements dictated by customers is for manufacturing to take a more proactive stance. However, little research has been reported which examines manufacturing proactiveness empirically. In this paper, we address this gap by developing an operational definition of manufacturing proactiveness and testing empirically whether a link exists between proactiveness and performance based on data collected from a sample of manufacturers. Based on the manufacturing strategy literature, we identify two major dimensions of manufacturing proactiveness: (1) the degree of manufacturing's involvement in the strategic processes of the business unit; and (2) the degree of commitment to a long-term program of investments in manufacturing structure and infrastructure aimed at building capabilities in anticipation of their need. We develop reliable scales for measuring each of the dimensions of proactiveness and use the data to provide evidence of a clear link between manufacturing proactiveness and business performance. We show that investments in structural programs coupled with either high levels of manufacturing involvement in strategic processes or planned investments in infrastructural programs correlate with higher than average performance.     

Caught Between Love and Money: The Experiences of Paid Family Caregivers

This paper considers the experiences of family home care providers, paid an hourly wage by California’s In Home Supportive Services program to care for disabled or elderly relatives. These caregivers are unique in that they provide care in what Arlie Hochschild calls the “third sector” of social life, where norms and responsibilities tied to work and family intersect. Drawing on in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations of family home care providers, we find that providers perceive their paid caregiving as deviant behavior that violates social norms surrounding family care, i.e. that people should not be paid for the care of kin. Family caregivers manage the norm violation associated with their carework by offering “accounts” that 1) emphasize the tasks and skill associated with caregiving and 2) by framing their carework as a public good that benefits the larger community. These accounts allow family providers to distance themselves from the norm violation of receiving a wage for care and to reconstruct their actions in a positive light.     

The female aging body: A systematic review of female perspectives on aging,health, and body image

While most body image research has focused on young female populations, evidence has shown that as few as 12% of older women are satisfied with their body size. Recent studies have also highlighted how anti-aging discourses are promoting unrealistic body norms, which have shown to contribute to poor body image and altered health behaviors. A systematic review of empirical studies focused on older women’s perspectives of health, body image, and the aging body is presented. Findings support that body image is a persistent, lifelong issue for women and should be considered when implementing healthy aging policies and practices.     

“I Feel Like More of a Man”: A Mixed Methods Study of Masculinity,Sexual Performance,and Circumcision for HIV Prevention

Ethnographic studies from numerous societies have documented the central role of male circumcision in conferring masculinity and preparing boys for adult male sexuality. Despite this link between masculinity, sexuality, and circumcision, there has been little research on these dynamics among men who have been circumcised for HIV prevention. We employed a mixed methods approach with data collected from recently circumcised men in the Dominican Republic (DR) to explore this link. We analyzed survey data collected six to 12 months post-circumcision (N = 293) as well as in-depth interviews conducted with a subsample of those men (n = 30). We found that 42% of men felt more masculine post-circumcision. In multivariate analysis, feeling more masculine was associated with greater concern about being perceived as masculine (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.25–2.32), feeling more potent erections post-circumcision (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.26–4.03), and reporting increased ability to satisfy their partners post-circumcision (OR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.11–4.77). In qualitative interviews, these factors were all related to masculine norms of sexually satisfying one’s partner, and men’s experiences of circumcision were shaped by social norms of masculinity. This study highlights that circumcision is not simply a biomedical intervention and that circumcision programs need to incorporate considerations of masculine norms and male sexuality into their programming.     

Non‐accidental injury and bone fragility disorders: the need for a multidisciplinary perspective

A case is presented of a child who was initially diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta following a skull fracture. However, she later presented with multiple fractures and soft tissue injuries which were considered to be due to non‐accidental injury. It can be perplexing distinguishing accidental and non‐accidental injury in children where a bone fragility disorder has been suspected. A combination of a careful review of the history, a thorough examination and expert review of the radiology is imperative. DNA testing can be helpful. Multidisciplinary case review, taking into account the social history and any concerns professionals have about the family, is invaluable in informing a difficult diagnosis. In this context, there is a definite role for other agencies in challenging the diagnosis or exclusion of non‐accidental injury. Professionals should be willing to challenge the exclusion of non‐accidental injury when such exclusion is not evidence based. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.