Constructing ethnicity in interaction

In the present study, I continue ongoing efforts to incorporate social constructionist viewpoints into sociolinguistics by demonstrating how two interlocutors use linguistic resources to project and shape ethnic (and other facets of) identity in unfolding talk. The interaction is a sociolinguistic interview from a large‐scale sociolinguistic study of a rural tri‐ethnic community in the southeastern U.S. I examine a range of features and types of features and in addition use both quantitative and qualitative methods. Further, I examine the linguistic usages of both the researcher (the interviewer) and the research subject. The analysis confirms that identity is dynamic and multifaceted and is very much a product of ongoing talk, although pre‐existing linguistic and social structures also come into play. In addition, the analysis demonstrates that identity is dialogic as well as dynamic and that researchers play a large role in shaping the linguistic usages of those they study.     

Cultural Worldviews of Foster Parents

The stress of living with cardiac disease can affect a couple's marriage, transforming its character. This article examines the psychosocial impact of cardiovascular disease, delineating the ways in which the illness experience changes the marital relationship. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 23 spouses of patients (mean age 56) diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Interviews were transcribed and subjected to content analysis. Two overarching dimensions emerged, depicting positive and negative effects on the marriage. Ongoing care for cardiac patients should include a focus on spousal caregivers, supporting both members of the couple as they jointly face challenges engendered by the illness.     

Rights Spaces: An Exploration of Feminist Approaches to Refugee Law

The exigent needs of refugee women necessitate feminist attempts to use legal mechanisms, however imperfect, to their benefit. However, the temptation to overestimate the importance of feminist gains in this realm must be avoided due to current constraints within the international refugee regime. Most forcibly displaced persons never reach the borders of western countries to claim asylum. Moreover, western 'refugee-receiving' countries are effectively closing their borders to migration claimed on strictly humanitarian grounds. Therefore, while feminists have successfully claimed a place for refugee women within protective rights mechanisms, they have been granted only a small portion of what is already extremely finite territory. Given this troubling state of affairs, I suggest that although proven avenues within refugee law must not be abandoned, the time is right for the sustained exploration of new and creative modes of engagement within refugee rights discourse. In this vein, the second half of the paper draws extensively upon the work of feminist legal theorist Jennifer Nedelsky to suggestively consider some possible alternatives for feminist theory and praxis.     

Defining a threshold of harm from gambling for population health surveillance research

The measurement of harm in the context of non-problem gambling has received little attention from researchers in the field. Using the combined data from six provincial gambling surveys conducted in Canada between 2001 and 2005 (N = 12,285), we compared how different thresholds of defining gambling-related harm impacts prevalence, the relationship with indicators of gambling intensity and the characteristics of non-pathological gamblers who report experiencing below threshold symptoms of problem gambling. Survey items defining harm were drawn from the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Three definitions of harm – reporting one or more problem gambling symptoms, reporting two or more problem gambling symptoms and having a PGSI score ≥ 3 – demonstrated a strong relationship with indicators of gambling intensity, and reliably differentiated low-threshold and zero symptom problem gamblers in terms of gambling characteristics and other risk factors.     

Welfare Policy and the Construction of Legitimate Authority: The Case of Puerto Rico

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the role of the welfare state in maintaining state authority by testing the relationship between participation in state social programs and the espousal of ideals that reject the sovereignty of the existing state. We use the case of Puerto Rico, drawing on surveys of residents of Puerto Rico regarding their participation in social welfare programs and their views on the legitimacy of the U.S. state, distinguishing between means-tested and universal social programs. The research demonstrates that the form and extent of social citizenship programs affect the continued acceptance of authority of the U.S. federal government over the island’s territory and population. Specifically, the use of means-tested social benefits predicts a greater acceptance of the authority of the sovereign state. These findings may be considered broadly informative to the power of social welfare programs in garnering quiescence among minority populations, expanding the existing literature to illustrate differences in opinion of state legitimacy based on the type of social benefits one receives.     

‘Baptism of Fire’: The First Year in the Life of a Newly Qualified Social Worker

This paper describes research commissioned by Skills for Care South West to identify and track the learning and development needs of newly qualified social workers through their first year of employment. The perceptions of 22 newly qualified social workers based in statutory settings are reported concerning the effectiveness of the social work degree (England), their induction and probationary periods and their progress towards post-qualifying social work education as part of their continuing professional development. The perspectives of line managers, people who use services and carers are also discussed. Findings from the research suggest that the social work degree has been well received by most newly qualified social workers and highlights the perceived importance of a statutory placement for social work degree students. Key social work practice skills that require further development are identified and a rationale is presented for greater investment in the induction and probationary periods of newly qualified social workers.     

The influence of childhood personality and environment and onset of the psychosis on recovery from dementia praecox 1

Beyond Ego Psychology: Developmental Object Relations Theory. Rubin and Gertrude Blanck. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.)

The Perilous Bridge: Helping Clients Through Mid‐Life Transitions. Naomi Golan. (New York: The Free Press, 1986.)

Progress in Self Psychology (Vol. I). Arnold Goldberg (Ed.). (New York: Guilford Press, 1985.)     

Being “easy”: Women’s desire to accept help in later life

ABSTRACT

This article examines the concept of being “easy” as a quality that female caregivers aspire to as they envision their potential care in later life. It draws on data from a qualitative study exploring the significance of caregiving to adult daughters’ perspectives and plans for their own aging. Caregivers’ experiences differ based upon their perception of how easy or difficult it was to care for their loved one. The former exemplifies a positive way to approach aging and the receiving of care. Being easy describes an attitude that these caregivers desired for their own later life.