Beyond the Gender Differential: Very Young Children Coping with HIV/AIDS

This article reports on a recent study of HIV/AIDS which investigated the role of gender in the experiences of young children in one region of Namibia. The findings reveal that while gender is reported to shape school‐age girls and boys’ experiences of being infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in many African nations, gender was not an influential variable in the experiences of very young children coping with HIV/AIDS. Conditions of poor health, deprivation and stigma were equally distributed amongst young girl and boy participants. Connectivity with families and communities was shown to be influenced by living conditions but not differentiated by gender. No gender differences were identified regarding young childrens’ sense of hope and vision for the future. The article implies that there may be a particular juncture when gender begins to make a difference in the life of girls and boys—and that this could be an important focus for research. Copyright © 2006 The Author(s).     

Is GP Restratification Beginning in England?

English National Health Service general practice is being restructured through the introduction of primary care groups (PCGs) and trusts (PCTs), and the personal medical services (PMS) schemes. Theories of GPs' professional organization have to be modernized accordingly. Past theories have tended to concentrate on the occupational level rather than consider the effects of different forms of market and quasi–market on practitioners' income and their ability to control their everyday practice. This paper extends the theory of professionalization, as an occupational group's strategy for control over its work, to cover these matters, and thereby hypothesizes an explanation of GP responses to current changes in NHS primary health care. Case study data from four PCGs and four PMS pilots suggest that general practitioners are responding in some cases by defending enclaves of traditional general practice; in others by concentrating on clinical rather than managerial interests; and in others again by forming a new dominant coalition with NHS managers. Restratification seems to be beginning in NHS general practice although other policy developments may yet prevent it. Researchers should monitor this potentially important change as PCTs form.     

‘At-risk’ or school-based risk? Testing a model of school-based stressors,coping responses,and academic self-concept for same-sex attracted youth

This study examined same-sex attracted (SSA) students' perceptions of their school climate toward same-sex attraction and their school-based environmental stresses and supports using Margaret Spencer's Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory model. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between stressors, coping mechanisms, and academic identity formation. Students' connection to teachers and their school environment had the strongest total impact on their academic self-concept and motivation to learn. Of key import was the indirect impact of students' perceptions of their school climate on both of these important academic outcomes, through their connection to both their school community and general school environment. Findings highlight the deleterious impact of school-based risk factors, including victimization and curricular silences, on educational outcomes for SSAyouth.     

Father Involvement in Infancy: Influences of Past and Current Relationships

Men's childhood experiences with their parents, their current relationship with their partners, and demographic factors were examined in relation to father‐infant interactions. Participants were 60 racially and ethnically diverse, inner‐city men and their 6‐ to 11‐month‐old infants. Father‐infant interactions were videotaped during semistructured free play in participants' homes. The quality of men's interactions with their infants was assessed using Likert ratings of their responsive‐didactic and negative‐overbearing behaviors. Men engaged in significantly more responsive‐didactic behaviors than negative‐overbearing behaviors. A cumulative score of protective demographic factors (i.e., men residing with their infants, being married, completing high school, and obtaining income above the sample's median level) and men's experiences of childhood acceptance from their fathers uniquely predicted their responsive‐didactic behaviors. Men's relationships with their partners were homogeneously strong and unrelated to fathering behaviors. This study builds on extant literature by providing a broader conceptualization of father‐infant relationships and applying observational methods to the study of fathering in minority, low‐income men.     

Complex families and equality in child support obligations: A comparative policy analysis

Family complexity creates difficulties for child support policy. We examine whether policy in 14 countries results in nonresident parents having equal financial obligations to children in different complex family situations. We find that when a nonresident parent owes support to two nonresident children in different families, the most common policy is to have unequal obligations favoring the older child. However, nearly as many countries achieve equal orders, but do so by reducing the obligation to the older child. When a nonresident parent has one nonresident child and a new resident child, the most common strategy is to reduce the obligation to the older nonresident child, but to make no attempt to equalize obligations for both children. Each of the four main policy strategies we identify has advantages; tradeoffs among three principles of equality, affordability of obligations and protecting the first child's standard of living are discussed.     

Assessing health-related resources in senior living residences

This study evaluated a new tool, “The Audit of Physical Activity Resources for Seniors” (APARS), which assesses the physical activity environment in Senior Living Residences (SLRs). Audits were conducted in 29 SLRs and inter-rater reliability was assessed. Pearson correlations were examined between APARS items and objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time, and self-rated health, collected from residents at a subset of 12 SLRs (N = 147). Eighty-nine of the 90 items (98.9%) demonstrated Kappa or ICC values above .70 and/or percent agreement above 80%. The 90 items were summarized into nine scales. Two scales (outside supportive physical activity features/functionality and outside exercise facilities) were related to greater physical activity and less sedentary time. Four scales (inside social facilities, onsite services, exercise programs, and social activities) were related to greater sedentary time and better self-rated health. APARS items demonstrated adequate inter-rater reliability and some evidence for construct validity to assess health-related environments in retirement facilities. Social activities in SLRs could benefit residents by incorporating more physical activity. Use of APARS could inform more health-promoting designs of senior living facilities.     

Sex differences in attitudes toward driving: A survey

A survey of a convenience sample of 198 students at the University of Texas at El Paso was used to determine if sex differences in attitudes toward the task of driving could be detected. Males reported more behaviors than females that would put them at higher risk of collision—like driving under the influence and in vehicles with high centers of gravity. In addition, men expressed more comfort than women for driving at night, in unfamiliar territory and in bad weather. There was also some evidence of higher driving exposure for males than females. Women were more likely than men to report compliance with traffic regulations: using turn signals and obeying speed limits. Overall, it appears than men have more confidence in their driving skills than women. This confidence of males may reflect more of a belief in their superior driving skills rather than any disregard for the risks involved in operating a motor vehicle.     

Dennis R. Young,Elizabeth A. M. Searing,Cassady V. Brewer (Eds.): The Social Enterprise Zoo

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -