Effects of Medicaid managed care policies on mental health service use among a national probability sample of children in the child welfare system

Children in the child welfare system are dependent upon Medicaid to finance services for their considerable mental health needs. This study examines the effects of Medicaid policies on mental health service use among a national probability sample of children in the child welfare system. Data for this study came from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, the Caring for Children in Child Welfare study, and the Area Resource File. Weighted multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate effects of policy variables on children's use of mental health services, controlling for child-level covariates and county-level health resources. Children in counties with behavioral carve-outs under Medicaid managed care had lower odds of inpatient mental health service use. Medicaid managed care enrollment and variations in type of provider reimbursement did not affect use of mental health services. Older age, greater need for mental health services, and higher levels of caregiver education were associated with increased odds of service use. Restrictions on use of inpatient mental healthcare caused by behavioral carve-outs may disproportionately affect children in the child welfare system who have high rates of such use. Careful adoption of carve-outs is necessary to assure appropriate care for these children.     

Help or hype: Symbolic or behavioral communication during Hurricane Katrina

Public relations professionals increasingly rely on the World Wide Web to communicate with their publics on a variety of issues, including the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts the organization has undertaken. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there is an opportunity to discover how the Best 100 Global Brands used their corporate websites and the power of their brand equity to help the victims of the disaster, as well as to communicate their own CSR efforts. Results show that 51% of these Top 100 firms had messages on their homepages about Hurricane Katrina, and 86% of those firms made donations totaling $105,000,000. The remaining 14% of firms exhibited symbolic communication only, with links to philanthropic organizations aiding rescue efforts.     

Social Support Interventions in Migrant Populations

The phenomenon of immigration has led to an important increasein the number of social programmes and services for migrantpopulations in many European countries. However, some investigationshave shown that the use of formal resources is extremely lowin these groups. In contrast to the limited utilization of programmesand services, research in the field of social psychology hasrevealed that the primary source of help and support for immigrantsis their own informal social network. After analysing the characteristics,advantages and limitations of formal and informal support systems,this paper presents a typology of social support interventionswith migrant populations that integrates both types of support.Four levels are differentiated: dyadic interventions, socialnetwork interventions, mutual aid groups and community interventions.The development of programmes to strengthen the informal supportsystem is emphasized as an alternative to integrating formaland informal resources in social work practice with migrantpopulations.     

西部青年对西部大开发的社会判断研究

本研究采用自编问卷就西部青年对西部大开发的社会判断情况进行了调查。结果表明:(1)大部分西部青年对西部大开发的社会判断呈一定的消极趋向;(2)西部青年对西部大开发的社会判断在农业与农民问题、民族交往问题、进城民工的权益保障问题上存在显著的地域差异,在工人下岗问题、腐败与经济犯罪问题上存在显著的职业差异,在环境问题上存在显著的文化程度差异。     

乌鲁木齐县安宁渠镇社会经济变化调查报告

该文通过对乌鲁木齐县安宁渠镇的调查 ,揭示了城镇化进程中所发生的社会经济变化 ,以及这一变化所产生的后果 ;论述了加快安宁渠镇发展急需解决的问题 ,即社会意识整合问题、知识更新问题、基础设施建设问题、体制问题等。     

脑死亡立法的社会意义及面临的困难

长期以来,心肺功能完全丧失一直是判定死亡的标准。然而,随着现代医学的进步,这一标准已不再适应科学的发展和社会的需要,脑死亡标准应运而生。世界上已有许多国家接受了脑死亡标准,并制订了相应的法律条例。我国在这方面才刚刚起步,在此过程中必然会遇到一些困难。因此,脑死亡立法应当谨慎进行。     

试论美术文化中的技术理性

无论从劳动产品的角度看,还是从社会的角度看,技术都是理性的表现;产品的生产过程,是一种技术展现的过程,即生产者的个性标记通过技术展现的过程,因此,技术本身也具有理性。理性的技术促进了人类社会的发展。     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Barbara A. Fennell, A History of English: A Sociolinguistic Approach
Kevin McCafferty, Ethnicity and Language Change: English in (London)Derry, Northern Ireland
Pieter Muysken, Bilingual Speech: A Typology of Code-Mixing.
Ulrich Ammon (ed.), The Dominance of English as a Language of Science: Effects on Other Languages and Language Communities
Andrew Goatly, Critical Reading and Writing. An Introductory Coursebook
Ana Roca (ed.), Research on Spanish in the United States. Linguistic Issues and Challenges
Ishtla Singh, Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction     

婚龄性别比失衡对社会运行和发展的影响——来自吉林省延边朝鲜族自治州农村地区的调查分析

婚龄性别比失衡问题到底有什么样的社会影响?这些社会影响的性质、影响范围以及具体表现又是怎样?为了回答这些问题,我们对延边地区进行了实地调查和深度访谈,发现该地区的婚龄男女性别比失衡相当明显。在这些地区,由于婚龄女性人口的大量向城市(国外)流动,当地的很多成年男性到了婚龄,都面临着无妻可娶的窘境。由此,对社会造成了一些负面的影响,社会运行和发展出现了一定程度上的离轨。     

Global standards: promise and pitfalls for re‐inscribing social work into civil society1

This article critiques the modernist logical‐positivist ideology that has underscored social work, and interrogates the promise of the development of global standards to re‐inscribe social work into civil society at the global level. The potential pitfalls and dangers of such an initiative are also examined. The development of global standards was born out of an assumption that there is a common core to social work on a global level and on an essential affirmation of humanity and human dignity of all peoples across the world. Global standards might be construed to constitute a hegemonic Western discourse and a denial of context‐specific realities. However, a judicious, sensitive, post‐modernist and critical approach may enhance sensitivity towards difference and a greater appreciation of locally specific realities, within the global sphere.