Training the workforce following a serious case review: lessons learnt from a death by fabricated and induced illness

In England, when a child dies as a result of suspected maltreatment, the Local Safeguarding Children Board is required to establish whether lessons can be learnt about collaborative working to safeguard children. These reviews usually include recommendations for both inter and intra‐agency training. In this paper, the authors argue that it is crucial, when planning and delivering training in this situation, to recognise the emotional impact on the workforce of the death of a child from maltreatment. This is particularly important when the child has died as a result of fabricated and induced illness (FII) by a carer and professionals may have inadvertently contributed to the child's suffering. Drawing on a case example of training following the death of a child from FII, this paper considers the challenges encountered by those responsible for commissioning and providing training. Attention is given to managing logistics, such as time delays between the death of the child and the eventual publication of the serious case review. The particular knowledge and skills required by trainers, not only in relation to the subject matter but also in managing complex group processes, are discussed. The support required by course participants and the trainers themselves is explored. The paper concludes with a checklist for those commissioning and providing training. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Psychological Impact of Work Re-entry Training for Female Unemployed Sole Parents

This study examined the psychological effects of short ‘re-entry to the workforce’ courses on the population of female sole parents, neglected in previous unemployment research. The data for the study were obtained from 118 female sole parents participating in the course, who were compared with a waiting list control group at the beginning and end of the course, and at a follow-up four weeks after the course had ended. Results indicated that the course produced decreases in depressive affect, negative mood and minor psychiatric symptomology. On all psychological measures, increases in well-being were shown to be maintained several weeks after the course had ended. It was concluded that the course offered significant and enduring psychological benefits to participants.     

Concepts of time and narrative temporality in the study of aging

In the context of present day Western culture, human aging is in danger of losing its temporal qualities because of the way it is objectified by scientific research and practical organization. An overemphasis on chronological concepts of time plays an important role in this process. Such concepts have a special function: they help to produce exact, but abstract and formal measurements. For gerontology, chronological time is indispensable because of its general scope of measurement. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that chronological time concepts can only be of limited significance for understanding the temporal dimensions of aging. Firstly, it is argued that even for research on aging, comparative concepts of time deserve the same status as metric concepts. Secondly, it is emphasized that human aging takes place within human time, with a present, past and future. This sense of a longitudinal present is missing in chronological time but eminently elaborated in narrative action. Narratives also shed some light on the concept of (the aging) personal identity and cultural images of aging.     

The impact of population growth on the standard of living: Demo-economic scenarios for the Netherlands

The core of the article can be comprised in the question: Will population ageing become a threat to our standard of living? Because the demographic and the economic system — linked together in this question — share significant determinants, the future state of both systems has been derived from the same mother scenarios. In order to explore a broad range of possibilities two strongly contrasting mother scenarios serve as the starting-points of the analyses. The economic-demographic relationship is mediated through a simple Cobb-Douglas production function. The question of whether the ageing process will jeopardize the standard of living, is, for each of the demographic projections, answered by comparing them with three economic targets, formulated in terms of GNP per capita growth and capital stock growth. The most important conclusion is that in the long run neither of the scenarios developed will generate an economic growth comparable with that of the 1960s and 1970s.     

Occupational Mobility for Immigrants in Sweden

MOBILITÉ PROFESSIONNELLE DES IMMIGRÉS EN SUÈDE
À l'aide de données uniques provenant du programme Marché du travail pour les immigrants, Compétences linguistiques et Réseau social, fondées sur des entretiens avec quatre groupes d'immigrants réfugiés (Éthiopiens /Érythréens, Chiliens, Iraniens et Roumains / Hongrois), l'auteur analyse la mobilité professionnelle en comparant la profession dans le pays d'origine, la première profession en Suède et la mobilité professionnelle au cours des quinze premières années en Suède. D'après cette étude, la mobilité professionnelle suit une courbe en U: pour beaucoup de gens, le premier métier exercé en Suède a un statut inférieur à celui exercé dans le pays d'origine. Cette situation peut s'expliquer par l'absence de transférabilité internationale du capital humain et/ou par la discrimination. Par la suite, le statut professionnel connaît une mobilité ascendante. La courbe en U est plus marquée pour les réfugiés qui jouissaient d'un statut professionnel élevé dans leur pays d'origine. La mobilité ascendante est également plus forte chez les réfugiés qui ont suivi un enseignement supérieur en Suède et chez ceux qui ont appris à parler couramment le suédois.     

Why do people engage in paid informal work? A comparison of higher- and lower-income urban neighbourhoods in Britain

The aim of this paper is to show that the extensive and growing sphere of paid informal work is not the same everywhere. Instead, we identify distinct socio-spatial differences in its character and the reasons why people engage in such work. Drawing upon interviews with 511 households in higher- and lower-income urban neighbourhoods of British cities, we reveal that for people living in the higher-income neighbourhoods, most paid informal work is conducted under social relations akin to formal employment. Exchange is between consumers and suppliers previously unknown to each other who are motivated by economic gain. For the populations of the lower-income neighbourhoods, in contrast, paid informal exchange occurs mostly between relatives, friends and neighbours for reasons associated with redistribution and sociality. Consequently, we show the need to move beyond assigning a universal character and logic to paid informal work and for greater recognition of the socio-spatial differences in this form of exchange. El objetivo de este articulo es demostrar que la esfera extensiva y creciente del trabajo pagado informal no es en todos sitios igual. En cambio, identificamos distintas diferencias socio-espaciales en al carácter y en el porque la gente se dedica a tales trabajos. Recurrimos a entrevistas con 511 hogares de barrios urbanos con ingresos elevados e ingresos bajos en varios ciudades británicas para revelar que, para los que viven en los barrios de ingresos elevados, la mayoría del trabajo pagado informal se conduce según relaciones sociales parecidas a las del empleo formal. En este caso, el intercambio ocurre entre consumidores y proveedores, previamente desconocidos, motivados por ganancia. Por cambio, en los barrios de ingresos bajos, el intercambio pagado informal ocurre principalmente entre familia, amigos y vecinos por razones asociadas con la redistribución y la socialidad. Por consiguiente, demostramos la necesidad de avanzar mas allá del mero nombrar un carácter y una lógica universal al trabajo pagado informal, y de dar mayor reconocimiento a las diferencias socio-espaciales en esta forma de intercambio.     

Appreciating Impact: Evaluating Small Voluntary Organizations in the United Kingdom

Within the mixed economy of care in the United Kingdom there are debates about the ways in which impact can be evaluated, in order to shape funding and policy decisions. One of the tensions evident in this debate is whether the evaluation approach should reflect the perspectives and goals of the voluntary organizations and their members, or whether evaluation should reflect the wider goals of the whole system of provision. The former runs the risk of being insular and self-congratulatory, while the latter may be inappropriate and dismissive of achievements. This paper explores this tension by reporting on a study that used Appreciative Inquiry to evaluate 10 small-scale not-for-profit schemes for older people. The data indicated some unexpected and long-term impacts that demonstrated the distinctiveness of the sector. Subsequently the findings were mapped on to the “impact grid” developed by Wilding and Lacey (2003). While this was straightforward at the levels of individuals and interorganizationally, it was more difficult at the sector/community level, suggesting that more work needs to be done to bring these two perspectives together.