Discrimination in child protection work: recurring themes in work with Asian families

When the relationships within the institutions and social practices of a society cannot be explained by the intentions, good or bad, of individual men and women, they can be described as structural ( Weedon 1987 , p. 3). This paper reports on research in a Midlands Social Services Department which examined child protection practice in relation to Asian families who had attended case conferences. The research shows that in spite of the good intentions of many individual workers, Asian families experienced a discriminatory service. Discriminatory policies and practices were perpetuated at an organizational level. Three themes from the research are explored: the use of interpreters, the accommodation of children, and the lack of attention to the mental and physical health of the child's mother and father. Each theme is explored to highlight the issues which Asian families faced and the problems which created barriers to good practice.     

The Perceptions and Needs of Farm Dwellers Regarding Aging,Advanced Age,and Future Perspectives

Abstract

This article reports on a multidisciplinary study that was undertaken by the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. This study was done on certain farms in the North West Province of South Africa and called the FLAGH study, meaning the Farm Labour, Agriculture and General Health study. This article reports on a need assessment of farm dwellers done during the second half of 2002 and focuses specifically on perceptions and needs regarding aging, advanced age and future perspectives of aged farm dwellers.

The objective of this study was to ascertain the psychosocial needs and problems of farm dwellers in order to eventually design, implement and evaluate a programme aimed at the improvement of the quality of life of farm dwellers. An exploratory study was done, utilising in-depth interviewing according to a schedule of both quantitative and qualitative nature. Certain aspects, like the attitude of the community towards the elderly, relationships of the elderly with peers, children, grandchildren and spouses were dealt with in this study. Topics like the needs or problems of the elderly, nearing death, old age homes and retirement were also covered in this project.     

Children Deconstructing Childhood

Commentaries on childhood, whilst abundant, largely depend on secondary sources, namely adults. This research attempts to address the question ‘what is childhood?’ by consulting the primary source — children. This case study, of children attending a day‐care centre in the West Midlands, England, adopted research tools that were developed to meet the needs of young children as research participants. Perspectives of childhood were identified and labelled the ‘Playful Child’, the ‘Unknowing Child’, the ‘Needful Child’ and the ‘Unauthorised Child’. The findings suggest a necessary review of the role of the early years practitioner, in particular where practitioners are ‘playing with’ young children.     

‘You Can't Have Well‐being If You're Dead…or Can You?’ Children's Realistic and Logical Approach to Discussing Life,Death and Wellbeing

Well‐being is a popularised and regularly considered aspect of an individual's life. Whilst frequently theorised across disciplines interested in childhood, children's perspectives on well‐being are often missing. This article presents children's views on well‐being, focussing on the extent they consider well‐being to exist after death or near‐death experiences. Through focus‐group discussion, children's conversations reflect their ability for deep philosophical, abstract thinking and contributing to clearer understandings of well‐being across different contexts. Children's pragmatic responses about death when considering well‐being provide a valuable contribution to understanding fear of death whilst arguing for collaborative approaches between adults and children when considering complex issues.     

Effective Enthusiasm of Danish Folk Education

Contextualization, the act of placing events in a proper context, allows teachers to weave a rich, dynamic portrait of a historical period for their students. As teachers strive to identify enduring themes and patterns, they must teach students to appreciate the particular policies, institutions, worldviews, and circumstances that shape a given moment in time. However, contextualized historical thinking runs counter to the narratives and frameworks that many students bring to class. Not only have many young people internalized timeless, psychologized notions of why people behaved as they did in the past, but they have also absorbed powerful stories through popular culture. Challenging long-standing historical frameworks takes time, and educators must give students multiple opportunities to practice and apply their new knowledge and skills. In this article, the authors describe three activities that help students think contextually as they read historical documents: (1) providing background knowledge, (2) asking guiding questions, and (3) explicitly modeling contextualized thinking.     

理性的冷静还是非理性的狂热？——女性张力背景下“剩女”择偶的路径依赖与模式纠结

＂剩女＂作为一种女性突生现象,加剧了女性择偶次生行动的紧张与彷徨。以女性张力为视角,可以揭示现代女性在择偶中面临的种种困境,通过女性择偶路径依赖的多元分析,探究女性择偶模式蕴含理性与非理性的多样化纠结,从科学发展观视阈寻求女性择偶选择的时代变革。     

Inter-organizational network structures in Russia: organizational changes from institutional and social embeddedness perspectives

Theory posits that organizations are embedded socially within their environment. The level of embeddedness depends highly on the environmental uncertainty a company and its network partners face. The latest research on transition economies indicates that the institutional framework in these countries is highly relevant for inter-organizational structures (i.e. formalization, standardization, frequency, intensity and reciprocity). As Russia constitutes a good example of high environmental uncertainty, a closer look at organizational changes in general and inter-organizational network structures in particular is taken. This paper extends the theoretical and empirical scope of social and economic theories on inter-organizational structures by formulating a conceptual framework that unites economic rationalism with socially embedded arguments. Contributing to emerging international HRD literature, the objective is to understand better the institutional influences on network structures and thus on organizational change. Moreover, it will be demonstrated how far organizational changes and human resource development is associated with institutional influences on network structures.     

践行“三个代表”重要思想 办人民满意的民族高校

民族高校实践"三个代表"重要思想,根本在于代表中国最广大人民群众的根本利益,办让人民满意的大学.在具体行动中要树立"四观"经济全球化、教育国际化背景下民族高等教育发展的时代观;发展是民族高校第一要务的发展观;全面协调、可持续的发展观;民族高校与地方经济社会发展紧密结合的服务观.只有如此才能让学生、教师满意,也有利于民族高校的进一步完善与发展.     

人的全面发展的三维解读

人的全面发展学说在马克思主义理论体系中占有十分重要的地位。要准确地理解其深刻内涵,必须从其内在涵义的完整性上去把握。需要从目标、过程和人格三个维度对其进行解读。