Carers of People with Learning Disabilities, and their Experience of the 1995 Carers Act

Summary This paper seeks to highlight the impact of the Carers (Recognitionand Services) Act of 1995 on carers of people with learningdisabilities. It draws on research conducted in the south westbetween 1997 and 1999, which examined the views and experiencesof carers who had an assessment of their needs, together withthose of the person they care for and the professional conductingthe assessment. It concludes that the Carers Act is not widelyused, or understood, by this group of carers. Recommendationsfor improving practice include changes to the current terminology,new triggers for a carer's needs assessment, and a greater inputfrom other agencies, especially health services. Although thecurrent paper focuses on the views and experiences of carers,an exploration of the Carers Act, and its effect on potentialconflicts of interest with the person with learning disabilities,is available elsewhere (Williams and Robinson, 2001).     

Gender Convergence in the American Heritage Time use Study (AHTUS)

The present study explored the short-term temporal characteristics of subjective well-being (SWB) and its potential correlates. Specifically, we examined the intra-individual variability and the trajectories of SWB and its components life satisfaction, positive, and negative affect. Over a two-week period, 27 participants (78% university students, 85% females, mean age of 29 years) provided SWB data every other day. Before and after this period, participants completed several questionnaires assessing personality and environmental variables, as well as several open-ended questions. The results provide evidence that participants experienced a significant amount of intra-individual variability in their SWB and its components. Furthermore, inter-individual differences in the intra-individual variability were related to several of the personality and environmental variables, as well as to participant’s age. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that deliberation (one facet of the Big Five dimension conscientiousness), social support, and age accounted for 58% of the total variance of intra-individual variability in SWB. In contrast, the slopes of the individual trajectories of SWB were on average statistically non-significantly different from zero. These results emphasize that information is gained by looking at both the patterns and the intra-individual variability over time: The individual trajectories of the participants on average appeared to be stable, but intra-individual variability of SWB was meaningfully related to several of the variables.     

From Every Tribe and Nation? Blacks and the Christian Right*

Objectives. The Christian Right is predominantly made up of white evangelicals but in recent years, the movement has attempted to include African Americans in social policy initiatives. This article examines support for the Christian Right from African Americans. Methods. The article is based on an analysis of data from the 1996 and 2000 National Election Studies and data from the Religion and Politics Survey, 2000. Results. The study finds that social conservatism does not predict support for the Christian Right from blacks like it does for whites but that evangelical affiliation predicts support from both groups. Black women are more likely to support the organization than are black men. Conclusions. The insignificant effect of social conservatism on blacks' attitudes toward the Christian Right raises questions as to how the movement can best appeal to this minority group. At the very least, the Christian Right does not appear to have solidified support from African Americans on the basis of shared convictions related to abortion and gay rights. Support for the Christian Right from African Americans remains difficult to measure and largely unpredictable.     

TWO-SAMPLE NONPARAMETRIC TILTING METHOD

Efron introduced the one-sample nonparametric tilting method for constructing confidence intervals. The method enjoys some good features such as being range-respecting and having internal studentizing and good coverage accuracy. This paper presents a two-sample version of the one-sample non-parametric tilting method for dealing with two independent sample problems, whereby each of the two individual samples is ‘tilted’ separately by different amounts. The paper shows that careful choice of the two tilting parameters produces second-order accurate confidence limits. Further, saddlepoint approximations can be used to avoid extensive Monte Carlo simulations, and it turns out that the approximations are exceptionally easy to apply with the tilting parameters. Numerical examples illustrate the two-sample nonparametric tilting method.     

Transition from the hospital to the community: small group program.

1. Clients in a psychiatric hospital often experience loss of control over their lives and dissatisfaction with their quality of living. A small group rehabilitation program can counteract the effects of institutionalization and restore a sense of mastery to chronic psychiatric clients. 2. The therapeutic nurse-client relationship provides consistency and stability for clients who must cope with the stress of the mental health system and the transition to a community setting. 3. The program strives to restore individuals' self-confidence and dignity, improve their quality of life, and decrease the frequency and length of hospitalization.     

School breakfast clubs,children and family support†

School breakfast clubs are a form of before school provision serving breakfast to children who arrive early. This paper explores their potential to provide support for families at risk of social exclusion. A national evaluation of a Department of Health pilot initiative suggests that their provision can afford valued support to families coping with varying degrees of difficulty in their material, environmental, relational and social circumstances. Many parents regarded clubs as successful in encouraging children to eat breakfast, reducing pressures in the morning and providing an additional source of affordable, trusted child care to those in work, studying or seeking employment. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surfacing important but invisible issues in American companies in Japan

This paper explores cross-cultural conflict between Americans and Japanese working together in Japan. Drawing on participant observation, this study develops and pilot tests an application for facilitating group dialogue around organizational conflict, based on Arnold Mindell’s Process Work model of group facilitation. The model proposes several major concepts: (1) rank awareness and how people in authority use their authority; (2) roles and polarities, including primary and secondary identities; and (3) how the marginalization of views can spawn conflict. The application of this model to several conflicts between Americans and Japanese suggest three sources of conflict that often stem from unvoiced cultural assumptions. First, the case findings here suggest that the freedom to speak up is often taken for granted by Americans, but not by Japanese. Second, Japanese are more aware and constrained by social norms than are Americans. Third, Americans in positions of authority in this case are relatively unaware of how the way they use their authority impacts the Japanese around them.