Supporting mothers: Issues in a Community Mothers Programme

This article describes a community support programme which implicitly challenges the assumption that the existence of a partner and local kin obviates the need to support women when they come home from hospital with a new baby. Implicit in the programme is the idea that support by mothers, of mothers, validates the activity of child care and is one way of facilitating the child's development. This programme was successful in terms of its perceived impact on both the providers and the recipients' ability to parent, in terms of providing training and support for providers, and in terms of strengthening links within the community and between the providers and the statutory and voluntary sectors. However, since the very model of care was a 'paid volunteering' one which perpetuated women's economic dependency it is a moot point whether it also perpetuated the devaluing of women's work. The subsequent mainstreaming of the programme and its inclusion of teenage lone mothers, who are likely to be co-parenting with their own mothers, raises still further questions about the complex and ambiguous nature of support for women. En este artículo se describe un programa de apoyo comunitario que, de manera implícita, pone en tela de juicio la creencia de que al tener una pareja o algun familiar muy cercano, las mujeres ya no necesitan ayuda cuando vuelven a casa después de tener un bebé. Implícita en el programa se encuentra la idea de que, el apoyo por parte de las madres de las madres da valor a la actividad del cuidado de niños y es a la vez una manera de facilitar el desarrollo de la niñez. Este programa tuvo mucho éxito en cuanto al impacto percibido tanto por aquellas que proporcionaban y recibían el apoyo de madres, en cuanto proporcionaban entrenamiento y apoyo para las proveedores debido al fortalecimiento de lazos con la comunidad, y entre las proveedoras y los sectores voluntarios y estatales. Sin embargo ya que este programa era un voluntariado pagado, el cual perpetúa la dependencia económica de la mujer, cabe preguntarse si también perpetúa la devalorización del trabajo de la mujer. La subsecuente parte principal del programa y la incorporación de madres adolescentes solas, quienes obtienen la ayuda de sus propias madres en el cuidado del bebé, provoca aun más interrogantes con respecto a la compleja y ambigua naturaleza de la ayuda a mujeres.     

Disability terminology and the emergence of ‘diffability’ in Indonesia

The labelling of disabilities in Indonesian society and legislation has changed over time. More recently, the grassroots has used the term difabel to allude to the conceptualisation of ‘differently able’. The persistence of the grassroots in defending the term difabel, while in the UNCRPD ratification era the elites have turned to using disabilitas, alerts us to the power of labels and the role they play. This article provides a critique of the issue of language and the labelling of people with impairments and how it influences the paradigm of policy and service responses, and thereby the future role of differently able people. Given the background on the evolved disability terminology, this article suggests that difabel should also be adopted into broader English usage (i.e. ‘diffability’). Such a term provides a more positive characterisation of people with impairments and reminds us of the importance of emphasising abilities and acknowledging differences.     

Regional paths to fertility transition

New sources of data on national fertility declines are used to examine the nature of fertility transition in major regions. These regions are defined by geographical and cultural criteria as well as by the forces attempting to shape fertility control. Particular attention is devoted to the timing of the onsets of fertility decline in the different countries of each region, and the rapidity of fertility decline within each country. The study finds greater similarities between the transitions than have sometimes been assumed.     

Health of Carers of Young People with Early Psychosis: A Biopsychosocial Approach

Despite widespread recognition of the usefulness of a biopsychosocial approach in social work, there are limited studies exploring how social workers can use this approach to support the health and wellbeing of carers of young people with first episode psychosis (FEP). Validated questionnaires and anthropometric measures were used to assess the physical health and wellbeing of 42 carers of young people with FEP. Carers had moderate levels of negative caregiving consequences, quality of life, and health status. More than half (52.4%) of carers were experiencing social isolation. Many carers were overweight (78.6%), had a high risk for type 2 diabetes (39.0%), and had hypertension (33.3%). Practical implications of a biopsychosocial approach to social work that supports both clients and their carers are discussed.     

A Friend In Deed? Can Adolescent Girls Be Taught to Understand Relational Bullying?

Relational aggression is common among girls. It can be distressing for the victim and may not always be recognised as a form of bullying. This paper evaluates a school–based intervention designed to help girls understand relational bullying. Girls from a single‐sex school completed a two‐stage evaluation of the intervention. Students showed greater awareness of relational bullying after the intervention and indicated that it would influence them to change their behaviour. At follow‐up, retention of knowledge was good. Students reported greater self‐monitoring of behaviour and less exclusivity. While this is encouraging, we cannot conclude that all negative behaviours ceased. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Editorial

This article compares the outcomes of the 1996 and 2001 research selectivity exercises in respect of their impact upon the discipline of social work in the United Kingdom. Material in respect of the 1996 RAE is principally derived from the study by Lyons and Orme; in respect of the 2001 RAE the material is derived from the study conducted by Salford Centre for Social Work Research. Key findings of the comparison between the RAE 1996 and 2001 reveal the continuation of an upward drift in gradings; that pre‐1992 universities have improved their position by achieving higher results; and a reduction in the gap between pre‐ and post‐1992 universities. The findings also suggest that institutions have become better players of the RAE ‘game’. There is also evidence of an increased dissatisfaction with the RAE process and outcome between the two RAE exercises.     

Gatekeeper's response: A rejoinder

Gender, marital status, age, and race were considered in relation to the amount and assessment of social ties among 1,124 unmarried men and women aged 40 and over. When there were significant effects of marital status, widowed people tended to be advantaged in amount and supportiveness of their informal ties, although the influence of marital status was affected by age and race. Contrary to some literature, gender differences in social relationships favoring women were not consistently observed. The oldest never married may have the greatest potential needs for affective and instrumental support.     

A review of the effectiveness of empowering leadership

Based on a review of empirical literature on empowering leadership, given incongruent and mixed results, the current work suggests reconsidering the effectiveness of empowering leadership. We propose a framework for examining the effectiveness of empowering leadership that considers: 1) feasibility of non-linear main effects of empowering leadership on work-related outcomes, 2) possibility of reverse causation between empowering leadership and work-related outcomes, 3) potential contradictory mediating mechanisms through which empowering leadership influences work-related outcomes, 4) consideration of boundary conditions which could alter the relationships between empowering leadership and work-related outcomes, and 5) consideration of levels-of-analysis and multilevel issues in empowering leadership. Our framework considers the multifaceted nature of empowering leadership and offers a guiding tool for advancing future research in this area.