Helping parents by working with their children in individual child therapy

The paper describes a small scale pilot process and outcome study that was undertaken at the University of York. The study is based on accounts of treatment interventions with children conducted by trainee play therapists studying on the University's programme in non‐directive play therapy. These are being used to develop a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of non‐directive play therapy as an intervention for distressed and maltreated children. The focus of this paper is on one finding of the study, namely that play therapy undertaken with individual children, in addition to bringing about improvements in the children's problems, may improve their parents’ parenting behaviour if they are appropriately involved in the therapy. The paper describes the cases and their outcomes at a 6‐month follow‐up. It illustrates the finding of changes in parenting behaviour through three case studies, and discusses the kinds of changes, possible reasons for them, and necessary practice requirements if these changes are to take place. The paper concludes that engaging parents in a broadly collaborative effort may be facilitated by a primary initial focus on their children.     

Five years in care: documented lives and time trajectories in child welfare

Child welfare practice is temporally structured and includes a variety of follow‐up activities. Practice‐based follow‐up has not, however, been much explored when studying children's paths in the child welfare system. This paper is based on a study of children (103) who were taken into care in 2006 in 10 Finnish municipalities and their paths in care until 2011. The social workers' institutional knowledge of their ‘own’ clients comprises the core of the research design. The paper reflects on the nature of this data from the point of view of the notions of temporality. The analysis highlights four temporal trajectories used in retrospective analysis of children's paths in care: the linear time trajectory of the decisions and changes in the institutional positions, the temporally fragmentary trajectory of childhood and youth, the circular time trajectory of professional understanding of the child's path and the silent time trajectory. Each one documents the children's paths differently; the linear one tends to be the ‘natural’ and most easily available trajectory and consequently, the children's paths are documented via decisions and institutional positions. The analysis suggests that more attention should be given to the complexity of time and temporality when studying children's paths in child welfare.     

The confluence of family and academic lives: Implications for assessment practices of college student learning in higher education institutions in the United States

Studies on family–work conflict among higher education faculty focus exclusively on research or promotion-related work outcomes and find significant challenges in balancing these two spheres. To extend this line of research, this study shifts the focus to classroom practices known as learnercentered assessment (LCA) and estimates the statistical association between marriage and parenthood and the use of these LCA practices in undergraduate classrooms. The hypotheses are framed around role theory and tested using data on a representative sample of U.S. faculty from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty and hierarchical linear regression techniques. The results return quite disparate gendered patterns. For males, marriage and parenthood are associated with reduced used of LCA practices in undergraduate courses. For females, parenthood but not marriage is associated with greater use of LCA practices. All regression results remain robust after adjusting for a wide range of individual and institutional characteristics. These results align with previous research showing that the work and family lives of faculty are indeed entwined. However, this entanglement may have quite different and significant implications for male and female faculty within the institution of higher education, as this study suggests.     

Bayesian response adaptive randomization using longitudinal outcomes

The response adaptive randomization (RAR) method is used to increase the number of patients assigned to more efficacious treatment arms in clinical trials. In many trials evaluating longitudinal patient outcomes, RAR methods based only on the final measurement may not benefit significantly from RAR because of its delayed initiation. We propose a Bayesian RAR method to improve RAR performance by accounting for longitudinal patient outcomes (longitudinal RAR). We use a Bayesian linear mixed effects model to analyze longitudinal continuous patient outcomes for calculating a patient allocation probability. In addition, we aim to mitigate the loss of statistical power because of large patient allocation imbalances by embedding adjusters into the patient allocation probability calculation. Using extensive simulation we compared the operating characteristics of our proposed longitudinal RAR method with those of the RAR method based only on the final measurement and with an equal randomization method. Simulation results showed that our proposed longitudinal RAR method assigned more patients to the presumably superior treatment arm compared with the other two methods. In addition, the embedded adjuster effectively worked to prevent extreme patient allocation imbalances. However, our proposed method may not function adequately when the treatment effect difference is moderate or less, and still needs to be modified to deal with unexpectedly large departures from the presumed longitudinal data model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

马克思主义原理的家庭历史观研究——评艾思奇《辩证唯物主义历史唯物主义》家庭历史观成果与缺失

马克思和恩格斯为了丰富和完善唯物史观，对原始社会的家庭思想非常重视，并进行深入的研究与阐述。家庭理论是马克思主义原理中的唯物史观的应有内容。艾思奇在《辩证唯物主义历史唯物主义》一书中对马克思和恩格斯的家庭思想作了具体阐述。归纳总结其家庭理论的成果与缺失，对于还原唯物史观发展的历史，丰富马克思主义的家庭历史观，具有重要的理论和实践意义。     

国外公共服务府际协作供给研究--基于地方府际协议的视角

公共服务府际协作供给是地方政府提供公共服务的手段之一。什么因素影响地方政府协作的动机与行为？这种协作提供公共服务的方式是否有效？近20年来，西方公共管理学界基于地方府际协议（ Interlocal Agreements， ILAs）这一载体，正不断推进上述问题的研究。综合西方学者对于ILAs的研究，归纳和总结出当前关于公共服务府际协作供给的动因及成效，以期能够为中国学者的府际协作主题研究提供借鉴。     

A small‐scale qualitative scoping study into the experiences of looked after children and care leavers who are parents in Wales

This paper presents the findings of a scoping study into looked after children and care leavers who are parents in Wales. Eight parents engaged in a qualitative interview. Thirty‐one pregnancies were discussed during the interviews: 16 live births, two ongoing pregnancies, one stillbirth, one termination and 11 miscarriages. At the point of interview, two parents continued to care for their children, but six had experienced the permanent removal of their child/ren as a result of social services intervention. Twelve of the 16 children discussed in the interviews were ‘looked after’ or adopted. Despite its small‐scale nature, the study highlights important considerations before, during and after participants became parents. Broadly categorized, these relate to the influence of parents' childhood experiences on their capacity to be parents, the availability and adequacy of support during parenting and the ensuing impact of parenting ‘success’ or ‘failure’. For parents who had experienced the loss of a child, some were resigned to having no further children, some continued to hope for a family in the future, while others had experienced cycles of repeated pregnancies and compulsory removals. The findings are considered in the context of related literature and suggest that increased attention is required in this under‐researched but highly emotive area.     

Native American kids: American Indian children’s well-being indicators for the nation and two states

American Indian/Alaska Native well-being, survival-based data are rare. This study explores the question of whether or not it is possible to produce such well-being information using secondary data sources. The answer is yes, with some limitations. Hence, Native American data for 10 well-being indicators nationally and for New Mexico and South Dakota, using a model like Kids Count (Annie E. Casey Foundation: 2003a, 2001 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State profiles of child well-being (Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD)) are reported; thereby reducing the gap in survival indicators for U.S. Indigenous children and youths. Comparisons between all children and American Indian children demonstrate that Native American children have comparatively worse well-being rates at the national level and in South Dakota, whereas New Mexico Native kids compare favorably to their non-Native peers. Policy recommendations conclude the paper. This research was funded by Casey Family Programs (Seattle, Washington) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation (Baltimore, Maryland) with partnership from the National Indian Child Welfare Association (Portland, Oregon). Charlotte Goodluck, Ph.D. collaborated with me on previous work that this study builds upon. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments, this paper is much improved because of their efforts. Angela A. A. Willeto is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.     

Gender, Job Searching, and Employment Outcomes among Mexican Immigrants

Past quantitative research has typically disregarded the effect of gender on the relationship between social capital and immigrant adaptation. However, recent theory and qualitative evidence suggest that gender is a significant factor moderating this association. I use Mexican Migration Project (MMP) data regarding Mexican immigrant experiences in the U.S. to examine quantitatively how the process of job searching, and the effects of network-based job searching, vary by gender. Results show no evidence of overall sex differences in the likelihood of using network (i.e., family-based or friend-based) or individual (i.e., non-network) job search methods, but there are sex differences in the processes affecting job search method used. Settlement increases women’s use of their friend networks to obtain work, while for men, it decreases the use of networks of any kind. Contrary to conventional wisdom, women who use network-based job searches are less likely to obtain formal sector employment than women who find work without network assistance. Conversely, using network-based job searches increases the likelihood that men will find work in the formal sector. Since employment in the formal sector is correlated with wages, as well as nonwage benefits, this suggests that using networks in the job search has markedly different effects on the overall economic well-being of male and female Mexican immigrants in the U.S.     

Placement preferences among children living in foster or kinship care: A cluster analysis

This research provides a longitudinal assessment regarding children's placement preferences, distinguishing between what children prefer to be permanent home situations and what children expect will be permanent situations. Cluster analysis was used in an effort to classify the responses of 1313 children, ages 6–14, in foster or kinship care, over a three year period, regarding placement preferences. Results of the cluster analyses indicate classification in the following four groups of permanency preferences: 1) I don't want to be here/going home; 2) I can stay here, but I don't want to/going home; 3) I can stay here and I want to, but no adoption; and 4) I can stay here and I want to, with adoption. Findings indicate that across waves of data collection, children express a sense of belonging in their foster homes. Older children were more agreeable to their current placements as long as there was no option of permanency/adoption. Also, White children were more likely to prefer and expect to go home. This research provides great utility in evaluative efforts that include listening to the voices of the children by encouraging their participation in case planning and service evaluation.