A quest for form: the tacit dimension of social work practice

This paper presents the findings of a small-scale study of social workers’ tacit understandings. Tacit is conceptualised as, difficult to describe knowledge, taken for granted knowledge or tacitly presupposed and silenced knowledge. The sample comprised 10 social workers employed in a statutory child protection context who participated in three stages of data collection. The research strategy encompassed six techniques: in-depth interviewing, observation, think-aloud, unstructured interviewing, reflective recall, and knowledge mapping. The tacit domain appears to be a rich site for practice understandings, as what practitioners explicitly offer is not a complete account of their knowing in practice. Interpretations suggest that practice may be guided by understandings of which practitioners are frequently unaware. When knowledge remains implicit, its content, level of influence, impact and use remain unconsidered as well. It is crucial, in attempting to gain clarity on any practice activity, that this realm be explored as it contributes to a fuller account of the realities of practice behaviour.     

Intergenerational Relations with In-Laws in the Context of the Social Convoy: Theoretical and Practical Implications

Intergenerational relations among in-laws are involuntary ties emerging as a consequence of marriage. As such, these relations provide a window through which the dynamics involved in restructuring social networks following life transitions may be observed. A questionnaire, based on the social convoy model, was given to an ethnically diverse sample of adults with living in-laws (N = 170), married 2–15 years. About half of the respondents included in-laws in a concentric circle network diagram of persons close and important to them. The strongest unique predictors of convoy placement for the mother-in-law were support, frequency of contact, relationship quality, and length of marriage, and for the father-in-law were support, relationship quality, and value similarity. This study sheds light on the dynamics of an intergenerational relationship that has been largely ignored in the literature, laying the groundwork for conceptualizing ways to foster positive in-law relationships as a necessary tool in managing the care of the growing numbers of elderly in the new millennium.     

Helping Women and Protecting the Self: The Challenge of Emotional Labor in an Abortion Clinic

One of the central problems in the performance of emotional labor at work revolves around how workers balance the needs of the job with those of the self. Drawing on data collected through participant observation and from in-depth, loosely structured interviews with nine clinic employees, this study analyzes how one group of abortion clinic workers negotiated the difficulties associated with emotional labor in ways that allowed them to achieve this balance. More specifically, we examine the interactive processes by which workers categorized patients into distinct types and developed specific strategies, along a continuum from investment to detachment, that enabled them to cope effectively with each type of patient. The implications of these strategies for understanding the connections between self, emotion, and authenticity are also discussed.     

Stress management for pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers: A pilot study

A five week stress management program for pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers emphasizing deep muscle relaxation and cognitive control methods was pilot tested with 23 experimental and 12 control subjects. The experimental group demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in cognitive and affective manifestations of stress and an increased belief in their ability to deal with stress. While the differences between the groups did not reach statistical significance with respect to changes in overall stress levels or use of specific coping strategies, a consistent trend was demonstrated in the data for more positive changes in the experimental group. Recommendations were made for an expanded program, the inclusion of incentives, and the program's inclusion in the school schedule.     

Experiencing Work: Values, Attitudes, and Moods

This paper describes a model (the VAM model)which integrates three of the most significantdimensions of the work experience, work values,attitudes, and moods, into one overarching framework.The VAM model proposes that a rich and more completeunderstanding of the experience of work necessitates thesimultaneous consideration of work values, attitudes,and moods. After describing how work values, attitudes, and moods, each capture key aspects ofexperiencing work, we discuss three important dimensionsalong which they vary: time, dynamism, and focus. Thesedimensions underscore the need for the simultaneous consideration of values, attitudes, and moodsfor a fuller understanding of the work experience. Wethen describe how work values, attitudes, and moods havethe potential to influence each other. Finally, we discuss the implications of the VAM modelfor understanding important organizational outcomesincluding extra-role behavior, job performance, socialloafing, absenteeism, and turnover.     

The State of Care Management in Learning Disability and Mental Health Services 12 Years into Community Care

This paper reports on the organization of care management froma longitudinal study of community care for people resettledfrom long-stay learning disability and psychiatric hospitals.The findings from a 12-year follow-up of care management arrangementsin 12 learning disability and eight mental health study siteservices are described. The diversity of care management arrangementsfound at earlier points in the evaluation remained evident.Also, many of the former ‘care in the community’service users were excluded from mainstream care managementarrangements in their localities. The difficulty of developingperson-centred arrangements in learning disability and the lackof integration of the Care Programme Approach and care managementwere evident. The findings and observations are placed in thewider policy and practice context, with suggestions for takingcare management forward nationally and locally.     

Differentials in Adult Mortality and Activity Limitation by Years of Education in the United States at the End of the 1990s

This study examines mortality differentials and health disparities between educational groups within the 1998 adult population (ages 25 and older) in the United States. Mortality differentials are measured using average life expectancy and health disparities by expected years without activity limitation. The results indicate that for both sexes, higher education is associated with higher life expectancy. Those with higher levels of education also have higher life expectancy without activity limitation. Adults with higher education can also expect to enjoy a greater percentage of their expected lives free of any form of activity limitation. At each level of education, adult females have a higher level of activity limitation compared to adult males. At the same level of education, adult females expect to enjoy smaller percentages of their remaining lives free of activity limitation compared to adult males of the same age.     

Reconsidering the Division of Household Labor: Incorporating Volunteer Work and Informal Support

The gendered division of household labor is more multifaceted than the allocation of paid work and domestic work. People also engage in volunteer work and informal support. I investigate the applicability of household labor allocation theories—specifically the time constraints, economic, and “doing gender” perspectives—to all unpaid work. I analyze the 1997 Australian Time Use Survey diaries of 1,797 married couples using logistic, ordinary least squares, and seemingly unrelated regressions. Analyses show that volunteer work and support work are substantial expenditures associated with paid work and housework, but they do not create a “third shift.” Volunteer work and support work are part of the gendered household labor allocation process determined, in part, by time constraints and by gender.     

Discovering Spatio-Temporal Models of the Spread of West Nile Virus

Emerging infectious diseases are characterized by complex interactions among disease agents, vectors, wildlife, humans, and the environment. Since the appearance of West Nile virus (WNV) in New York City in 1999, it has infected over 8,000 people in the United States, resulting in several hundred deaths in 46 contiguous states. The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and maintained in various bird reservoir hosts. Its unexpected introduction, high morbidity, and rapid spread have left public health agencies facing severe time constraints in a theory-poor environment, dependent largely on observational data collected by independent survey efforts and much uncertainty. Current knowledge may be expressed as a priori constraints on models learned from data. Accordingly, we applied a Bayesian probabilistic relational approach to generate spatially and temporally linked models from heterogeneous data sources. Using data collected from multiple independent sources in Maryland, we discovered the integrated context in which infected birds are plausible indicators for positive mosquito pools and human cases for 2001 and 2002.