Negotiated time-out: a de-escalation tool for couples

Many state domestic violence intervention standards mandate that treatment for offenders should be separate from any treatment offered to victims. In this article we advocate that in cases of low-level violence, when couples choose to remain together, certain aspects of treatment should be offered conjointly. Specifically, our feedback from victims and offenders suggests that one tool generally taught to offenders-time-out--is often ineffective and can be used abusively when partners are not taught the tool concurrently. We describe the negotiated time-out procedure that we developed and use feedback from our clients to illustrate its usefulness.     

Foster care and Medicaid managed care

Children in the foster care system are often dependent on Medicaid for health care. These children, however, have more complex health care needs than the typical child receiving Medicaid. States are implementing Medicaid managed care programs as a way to control escalating costs while providing necessary services. This article reviews the issues surrounding delivery of managed health care services to children in foster care and describes several solutions.     

After the Interview

This article is concerned with after the interview, a strip of time (Goffman 1974, p. 10) between the end of the formal interview and the culmination of leave-taking rituals. Although there is a considerable and growing literature on qualitative interviewing (Arksey and Knight 1999; Kvale 1996; Rubin and Rubin 1995; Weiss 1994), and some corridor talk about the meaning of off the record post-interview comments, this topic has received little attention in the published literature (but see DeSantis 1980 and Wenger 2001). And we think it is an important one, since it illuminates the interviewee's interpretation of the interviewer and interview process, and highlights aspects of the meaning of the topic, and of the interviewer, to the respondent (which is, after all, the endpoint of the qualitative interviewing method). Further, the question of what constitutes after the interview throws into relief the question of what is an interview.     

Women's and men's careers in British sociology

The career experience of men and women in British university sociology since 1950 is compared, using published data for the whole group and fresh data from a sample of departments. It is shown that, when like is compared with like, the outcomes for men and for women have not been as different as is often suggested; family reasons were more salient in women's careers, but in the end have not made much difference to their destinations. But the proportions of women recruited have varied over time, and the experience of both sexes has been strongly influenced by historical factors affecting different periods. Within the constraints which those have imposed, individuals have not all made the same choices, and that too has affected the outcomes.     

The development of preferences for specific body shapes

Research with adults has shown a preference for average-weight female figures with waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) of 0.7, and average weight male figures with waist-to-hip ratios of 0.9. This study investigated the development of preferences for WHR sizes as well as preferences for specific body weights. Five-hundred eleven children ranging in age from 6 to 17 were presented with drawings of 12 male and 12 female silhouettes varying in weight and WHR and asked to select one they thought looked the nicest or most attractive. The youngest children showed preferences for the underweight figures, changing to consistent preferences for the average weight figures in the teenage years. The developmental curves for waist-to-hip ratio preferences were linear, changing gradually over time to become more adult-like. Potential developmental models for the development of preferences for specific body shapes are considered in relation to these data.     

Shaken baby syndrome: assessment, intervention, & prevention

Child abuse and neglect continue to be parts of a disturbing reality in both the United States and the world. Despite significant advances in the identification and treatment of child abuse, health care professionals are still attempting to grasp the extent of the physiological and psychological effects of child maltreatment and injury. Child abuse, in all of its forms, is preventable, and more must be done to decrease its incidence. Shaken baby syndrome is one of the most deadly and devastating forms of child abuse and is characterized by a traumatic brain injury caused by the violent shaking of an infant. Recognition of high-risk families, combined with education of parents and other caregivers are key to prevention of shaken baby syndrome.     

Healthcare providers' treatment of college smokers

About 28% of college students smoke tobacco, and many will continue smoking into adulthood. Although little is known about how to help college students quit smoking, 1 promising strategy is healthcare providers' advice. To estimate their life-time receipt of brief advice and to identify characteristics that predict who may receive that advice, 348 college students completed a survey about their smoking and related practices. Seventy-seven percent of the smokers (73% of the students) were asked about smoking. Of those smokers, 57% were advised to quit, 22% were given advice about quitting, 5% were helped with setting a quit date, and 4% were offered follow-up. Occasional smokers were less likely than daily smokers to be advised to quit. Although 36.2% of the smokers did not report their smoking accurately, smokers who were accurate were more likely to be advised to quit and to be given advice about quitting.     

Lottery Playing Amongst Youth: Implications for Prevention and Social Policy

Factors associated with lottery ticket purchases, accessibility of lottery products, and lottery playing behaviour amongst 1,072 youth (ages 10-18 years old, mean age 14 years-old) was examined. Playing the lottery was found to be the most popular gambling activity with youth reporting playing all forms of lottery tickets including draws, scratch tickets, and sports lottery tickets. Youth reported beginning to play the lottery at age 12, with scratch ticket participation being amongst the most highly reported type of lottery activity with the youngest age of onset. The vast majority of youth are aware of the legal age to purchase tickets although many believed that there should be no age requirement to purchase any form of lottery ticket. Youth, regardless of their age, reported few if any difficulties in purchasing lottery tickets. Moreover, a third of underage youth reported going to the store specifically to purchase lottery tickets with this behaviour increasing with the age of the participant. This research confirms previous findings that lottery tickets are highly accessible to underage youth despite legal prohibitions. The results provide valuable information that can be subsequently used in the development of responsible social policy and youth gambling prevention programs