Conceptualizations of Family by Older Gay Men

SUMMARY

Gay lives challenge historically dominant understandings of family. Given that definitions of family have been heterosexually based, how do non-heterosexuals define and understand “family?” Drawing from the family life course perspective, we propose that contemporary cohorts of older gay men represent a strategic vantage point for understanding innovations in family life, and thus expand current understandings of a gay life course. We use data from an interview study of gay men over the age of 50 who talked about their family relationships. While providing diverse definitions of family, biological ties and closeness were two consistent dimensions for defining both positive and negative family relationships by these older gay men. Narratives of coming out were central to discussions of current relationships with parents and children. The findings from this study indicate that sexual orientation influences life trajectories and transitions and point to useful avenues for further research on contemporary family life.     

The welfare/self-sufficiency gap among single mothers through theoretical lenses

ABSTRACT

Poverty has been a recurring issue in America since time immemorial and become the target of a panoply of corrective measures from the federal government. One of these measures is, of course, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the key welfare policy under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Since its inception, TANF has constantly been the subject of vehement controversies among politicians, lawmakers, community advocates, social researchers, and government officials. Indeed, there has been a growing concern about the effectiveness of the program in galvanizing economically disadvantaged families toward economic self-sufficiency. This paper presents a historical overview of the political context that led to the passage of the TANF policy, identifies barriers associated with TANF implementation, explains the concept of self-sufficiency, and critically analyzes the gap between welfare receipt and economic self-sufficiency through the lenses of four theoretical benchmarks: policy design and social construction, culture of poverty, racial classification, and social control. Implications for research are discussed.     

Gamblers' irrational thinking about chance events: the ‘double switching’ concept

The aim of this study was to examine the association between gender and problem electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling. One hundred and twenty-three males and 209 females (N=335; three participants did not identify their gender) with a mean age of 44.9 years were surveyed in gaming venues within Metropolitan Melbourne. The results showed a greater representation of Australian-born (74%) among the female group, compared to the male group (64%). The women were also older (47% were aged 41–60 years) than the men (48% of males were aged 19–40 years). Significant relationships were found between gender, age, marital status and religion and pathological EGM gambling. The results of this study showed the pathological EGM gambler was likely to be male, under the age of 45 years, single and possibly of the Greek Orthodox faith. Implications of this study suggest that different forms of gambling may suit different cultures and that other issues pertaining to cultural aspects of gambling need to be explored in greater depth.     

Selection and the Marriage Premium for Infant Health

Previous research has found a positive relationship between marriage and infant health, but it is unclear whether this relationship is causal or a reflection of positive selection into marriage. We use multiple empirical approaches to address this issue. First, using a technique developed by Gelbach (2009) to determine the relative importance of observable characteristics, we show how selection into marriage has changed over time. Second, we construct a matched sample of children born to the same mother and apply panel data techniques to account for time-invariant unobserved characteristics. We find evidence of a sizable marriage premium. However, this premium fell by more than 40 % between 1989 and 2004, largely as a result of declining selection into marriage by race. Accounting for selection reduces ordinary least squares estimates of the marriage premiums for birth weight, prematurity, and infant mortality by at least one-half.     

Nontraditional Families and Childhood Progress Through School: A Comment on Rosenfeld

We reexamine Rosenfeld’s (2010) study on the association between child outcomes and same-sex family structure. Using the same data set, we replicate and generalize Rosenfeld’s findings and show that the implications of his study are different when using either alternative comparison groups or alternative sample restrictions. Compared with traditional married households, we find that children being raised by same-sex couples are 35 % less likely to make normal progress through school; this difference is statistically significant at the 1 % level.     

Challenges in Rural Social Work Practice: When Support Groups Contain Your Neighbors,Church Members,and the PTA

Rural social work occurs in unique practice environments with challenges and rare opportunities. Strong social ties, commonly found in rural communities and often missing in urban areas, can serve as sources of resilience for group members facing adverse life circumstances. Therapeutic formal and informal support groups, bolstered by this support and led by social workers in rural communities, can face numerous challenges due to locale, lack of transportation, and potential worker burnout. This article highlights ethical considerations rooted in a theme of rural group work while providing helpful hints based on the IASWG Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups.     

The Aftercare Support Program: An Emerging Group Intervention for Transition-Aged Youth

The unique challenges faced by transition-aged youth have received considerable attention in the literature, but few developments for aftercare support interventions have followed. The Aftercare Support Program (ASP) is a group-based intervention designed for such youth. ASP was developed as a zero budget, low-intensity intervention delivered by volunteers from a local college/university and youth-serving agencies to encourage transition-aged youth to pursue postsecondary education and vocational training by utilizing existing community resources and services. The underlying theoretical concepts are derived from solution-focused brief therapy and a strengths-perspective in social work. Case vignettes, including feedback from participants and lessons learned are offered, along with implications for the ASP model and other aftercare support models for transition-aged youth at a time when public and private funds for such programs are limited.     

Dementia Caregiving Outcomes: The Impact of Caregiving Onset,Cognitive Impairment and Behavioral Problems

With a projected increase in the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias, family caregiving is steadily increasing. Caring for an individual with AD is characterized as a “career,” and within this career are a number of key transitions, including the onset of caregiving. Research reveals a number of negative emotional health outcomes for AD caregivers, including depression and role overload, but less research has examined the influence of key transitions on the emotional adaptation of caregivers. The purpose of this study is to examine how different patterns of caregiving onset (gradual and abrupt) impact emotional health outcomes for AD caregivers. This study also explores how care-recipient cognitive impairment and behavioral problems moderate these relationships. Cross-sectional, quantitative data from 100 caregivers completing self-administered surveys were used. A series of one-way ANOVAs and multiple regression analyses were conducted to address study aims. Results indicate that care-recipient cognition and behavioral problems moderated the relationship between caregiving onset and emotional health outcomes for caregivers who experienced a more abrupt entry into the caregiving role. Results suggest the importance of considering different onset transitions and moderating factors within the caregiving career to target clinical interventions. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

MASCOT: An agent-based architecture for dynamic supply chain creation and coordination in the internet economy

The emerging global internet economy will increasingly put a premium on the ability of companies to quickly and accurately evaluate new market opportunities, new product/ subcomponent designs, and other strategic business decisions (e.g. make-or-buy) in coordination with potential supply chain partners. It also requires that companies be able to effectively and efficiently coordinate activities, e.g. production and transportation across supply chains that are dynamically set up in response to constantly changing and increasingly customized market requirements. This paper provides an overview of MASCOT ('multi-agent supply chain cordination tool'), a reconfigurable, multi-level, agent-based planning and scheduling architecture aimed at supporting these functionalities. It reviews key innovative elements of the MASCOT architecture with a special emphasis on its support of realtime mixed-initiative 'what-if' functionalities, enabling endusers at different levels within the architecture to rapidly