Empathy and professional attitude in social workers and non-trained aides

The purpose of this study was to investigate empathic communication and professional attitude in vocational groups representing different levels of professional training. A further aim was to elucidate some aspects of the impact of the clients. Four groups of professionals participated, three with degrees as social workers and one with only short professional training. Three groups worked with committed drug addicts, one group with somatically ill patients. The 110 subjects were tested with a video-test of professional attitude and empathic communication. Different response patterns were found in the different groups. The group with short training had the highest proportion of unprofessional responses. The group of social workers working with somatically ill patients showed the highest amount of empathic communication. Furthermore, there was a distinction among the kind of unprofessional responses used by the different groups. Hypotheses on the causes of these differences and implications for future research are discussed.     

Medicine on the line? Computer‐mediated social support and advice for people with diabetes

The advent of thousands of Usenet groups on the Internet, covering a vast range of medical and welfare issues and ostensibly devoted to the mutual social support of participating members, has raised the potential for the development of new forms of 'virtual' health care. This article critically analyses the use by people with diabetes of one such Usenet group. It seeks to establish, first, the extent to which such a site provides some demonstrable measure of social support to its participants. This is approached by undertaking a structural analysis of the site to identify the extent of usage, and the nature of supporting interventions using a fivefold classification (instrumental, informational, esteem and social companionship and other). Second, the article attempts to identify any disparity between the lay health-knowledge in evidence and biomedical opinions proffered by the use of a panel of consultant diabetiologists. The results of the analysis suggest that the diabetes newsgroup provides an example of an active forum for largely well-informed participants who routinely use the media as an aid to the reflexive management of their medical condition. It also raises the prospect of a renegotiated relationship between medical knowledge and lay experience based upon shared learning     

First Housing Moves in Spain: An Analysis of Leaving Home and First Housing Acquisition

This paper examines young people's firsthousing acquisition in Spain. The majority ofyoung Spanish people leave home to buy aproperty and to live with a partner and/orchild. We examine the extent to which thistransition dominates first housing moves duringthe 1980s and consider the ways in which widerfamily networks facilitate leaving home to buya property. We then examine characteristicsassociated with deviation from this normativeroute. We find alternative transitions,particularly moving into rented accommodation,are more common among young people from moreadvantaged backgrounds, and those living innorthern Spain.     

"乡约"不等于"乡规民约"

长期以来,学者们在研究中经常将“乡约”与“乡规民约”不加区别地混为一谈。事实上,“乡规民约”是基层社会组织的社会成员共同制定出来供大家共同遵守的一种社会行为规范,而“乡约”是乡村社会中以社会教化为主要目的的一种民间基层组织形式,二者的内涵并不相同,其历史发展也遵循着不同的路径。将“乡约”等同于“乡规民约”的研究方法既违背了历史事实,也混淆了两种不同性质的社会文化现象。     

‘The Effect of Social Networks at Origin Communities on Migrant Remittances: Evidence from Nang Rong District’

The literature on the effect of social networks on migrant remittances has ignored the influence of a household’s embeddedness in social networks in the origin community. This paper, using multilevel statistical modeling and social survey data from Nang Rong district in Thailand, examines how remittances between migrants and origin households are associated with social networks. Social network measures come from data on sibling and rice harvest network ties. Rice harvesting is very important to the rural economy, and households participating in the network are privy to vital sources of news and information that spread through the network. Results support the notion that migrants remit less to households that are isolates in the rice-harvesting network, which is theorized to be associated with access to information about employment options.     

短信文学的文化意义“怎么估计也不过分”吗——与马相武教授商榷

马相武教授的《短信文学的文化意义》夸大了短信文学的社会文化意义,离学理和事实甚远。假如我们看不到文学降低高度所潜藏的弊端,以为“文学能够降低自己的门槛”就任其降低门槛,甚至还鼓吹“文学需要降低自己的门槛”,那就很有可能得不偿失了。一方面,我们必须注意到潜藏于新技术背后的商业力量；另一方面,我们必须竭力避免走入“技术万能论”的心理误区。倘若把“文学本身”进入“一个新的发展时代”寄托在“新技术和新载体”上,那么,虽然不能说完全是梦想,但仍不免让人感到有些悲哀。     

社会保障转制成本的理论与对策分析

在社会保障制度转换过程中,所有国家都会面临制度转换成本的负担问题。中国要顺利实现社会保障制度由现收现付制向部分积累制转变,政府必须承担新旧制度衔接过程中的全部转制成本。中国可借鉴智利“认可债券”发行经验,以解决目前社会保障资金运行中凸显的个人账户空账运行问题。中国也可借鉴美国“确定受益制”和“确定供款制”两种企业年金计划的成功推行经验,扩大企业补充保险支出,缩小国家基本保险支出,最终减轻政府财政负担,推动国家经济稳定增长。     

社会技术及其地位问题剖析

在梳理社会技术基本问题的基础上,分析社会技术观念形成的理论背景以及社会技术样式,揭示社会技术形态的主要特点与社会技术系统的建构机理,探讨社会技术的地位与作用。社会技术是一类广泛存在的技术门类,对它的探讨有助于拓展技术哲学研究领域,推进技术哲学研究的深化,实现技术哲学两种学术传统的融合。     

辽宁老工业基地“新失业群体”的社会生存状况研究——基于社会排斥的分析视角

辽宁老工业基地“新失业群体”的社会生存状况与自身的先赋资本、人力资本及社会资本确实有密切关系,这些因素导致了其在就业中遭受一定的社会排斥。“新失业群体”的父辈由于本身的失业下岗而沦为社会的弱势群体,而且由于辽宁老工业基地特殊的体制转轨境地,使之遭受到社会和家庭的双重挤压。     

社会边缘群体对社会稳定的影响及对策--以哈尔滨建筑业农民工为例

社会稳定和社会边缘群体的生存状况紧密相连.建筑业农民工群体是中国社会边缘群体的重要组成部分,必须通过实证研究分析他们的生存状态及其与社会稳定之间的关系.通过抽样方法和问卷调查,从经济状况、社会分配、社会心理和社会控制等四个方面透视哈尔滨市建筑业农民工群体的生活状况,目前还不是影响社会稳定的因素.但从长期来看,若不注重研究并改善其境遇,则可能成为社会稳定的隐患.鉴于此,必须综合利用农民工社会保障制度、工会组织、技能培训、改善食宿和安全条件以及多样化的休闲途径,来保证这一群体的生活质量和合法权益,以维护社会稳定.