Making connections: Severe mental illness and closeness with other people

Much has been written about social lives of people with severe mental illness (SMI). Before social lives can flourish, however, people with SMI must first get close to other people. We studied this closeness by holding three hour-long focus groups at Fountain House, a community mental health agency in New York City. We found that closeness between two people with SMI is challenging because someone with depression, for example, may have trouble understanding someone with a different disorder (e.g., schizophrenia). Romantically, closeness is also challenging—SMI is hard to explain to partners. In the workplace, closeness is difficult because SMI can alienate co-workers. It could push them away. In mental health programs, we found that closeness has more of a chance to develop (1) during evening and weekend activities; (2) when activities are planned often enough to prevent isolation; and (3) when staff reach out to people before extended absence causes distance.     

Gossip as strategy: The management of talk about others on reality TV show 'Big Brother'

In this paper we examine the nature of gossip talk as an activity type in the context of the TV game show 'Big Brother'. Using a detailed analytic approach to the situated nature of gossip sequences, we show how participants in the show manage gossip talk strategically to establish social relationships within the house, as well as to present themselves in a positive way to the viewing (and voting) audience. We argue that there is a contextual double framing for talk in the Big Brother (BB) house which participants are orienting to, both as members of a social group, and as players in a TV game show. The paper thus contributes to existing work on the social function of gossip, as well as exploring its strategic function in this particular interactional context, calling into question the nature of 'natural' discourse.     

Gastrostomy and children: a review of the literature in learning disabilities

Children with developmental delays often suffer feeding difficulties. It has become common for those with a severe likelihood of malnutrition to be considered for alternative methods of nutritional intake, often a gastrostomy. As part of a pilot study investigating the effects of gastrostomy on the child and their family, we conducted a literature review in order to establish the current areas of research, progress and concern. This paper describes the method and findings of the literature review and concludes with a discussion of the topics raised. The main conclusion is that although the need for gastrostomy in this group of children has been shown to be effective in maintaining adequate weight gain and nutritional intake, the support given to the family prior to, and after the operation is inadequate. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on detailed family assessment as part of the early intervention package. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is Bigger Really Better?

This study investigates the effect of a capital facilities project on nonprofit financial vulnerability metrics. The author employs a difference‐in‐differences technique to model the relationship between facilities investments and financial vulnerability indicators using data for a matched‐pair sample of nonprofit organizations that invested and did not invest in a facilities project. Overall the findings suggest that investments in facilities are associated with temporary increases in an organization's net assets ratio and decreases in its surplus ratio after a project is completed, and that the costs associated with facilities projects (for example, debt) place strain on nonprofit finances. The study's findings have implications for the financial management of nonprofit organizations, particularly in regard to the associated costs of capital expansion.     

Female-partnered women conceiving kinship: Does sharing a sperm donor mean we are family?

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explored how 36 initially female-partnered mothers defined their own, and their children's, relationships with families who share their unknown sperm donor (i.e., “linked” families). Shared genetics among children were sometimes sufficient to describe relationships among linked families as familial, especially from the children's perspectives. Most women described their own relationships with linked families as significant but not necessarily in traditional family terms. Family terms were sometimes seen as undermining ties to siblings and genetically unrelated mothers. As shared experiences have come to define “chosen family,” definitions of significant relationships must expand to include those defined by shared genetics alone.     

Wage Inequality and Structural Change

Social Indicators Research - Income inequality in the context of large structural change has received a lot of attention in the literature, but most studies relied on household post-transfer...     

福州地区部分产妇“坐月子”传统习俗的调查

采用定性研究方法对福州市城区和福清农村两地12户正在“坐月子”的家庭进行调查,并召开专题小组讨论会,组织19名卫生工作者参加讨论与分析。结果表明,“坐月子”是一个很重要的惯例,其强调摄入大量的高蛋白食物、提供家庭照顾、多休息并专注于体能的恢复、注意会阴部卫生和悉心照顾孩子等有利于产妇恢复健康;而对产妇采取限制洗澡、谢绝会客、限制活动、不适宜的辅助母乳喂养、给新生儿喂中药汤和不重视牙齿卫生等可能无益,甚至有害。建议提倡有利于产妇恢复健康的习俗与措施,努力克服和避免不利于产妇健康的因素。     

Ethnic Identity and Offending Trajectories Among Mexican American Juvenile Offenders: Gang Membership and Psychosocial Maturity

We examined the association of joint trajectories of ethnic identity and criminal offending to psychosocial maturity, gang membership, and Mexican American affiliation among 300 Mexican American male juvenile offenders from ages 14 to 22. There were two low‐offending groups: one was the highest in ethnic identity and changing slightly with age and the other was the lowest in ethnic identity and stable with age. A third group displayed moderately declining offending and moderately stable ethnic identity. A fourth group displayed high‐offending individuals with moderate, but increasing, levels of ethnic identity, who were initially lower in psychosocial maturity and more likely to be gang members. The findings highlight the need to contextualize theories of ethnic identity development.