Wider Perspectives in Family Mediation: An Ecosystemic Approach

All mediation processes are constrained by their theoretical frameworks. A wider ecosystemic framework extends perspectives and can open new windows on family systems, interdisciplinary connections, and links between past, present, and future that shape decisions. While showing some similarities to family therapy, ecosystemic family mediation is a discrete process with clearly defined principles and boundaries. In practice, it needs to be tailored to the needs of the particular family, with special attention to the importance of listening and talking with children who are experiencing parental separation and major changes in their lives. Family mediators help family members to manage change. Mediators need to look for change within themselves too, remaining open to new ideas and the development of their thinking and practice.     

The Prevalence of Sexual Abuse by K-12 School Personnel in Canada, 1997–2017

ABSTRACT

Studies surrounding the sexual abuse of children by school personnel in Canadian contexts are infrequent and often limited in their scope. The present study addresses this drawback with a contribution of data gathered from disciplinary decisions of educator misconduct, media reports, and published case law concerning child/student sexual abuse cases (between 1997 and 2017) that involved any individual employed (or formerly employed) in a Canadian K-12 school. The study revealed a number of interesting points about the larger student victim and offender demographic patterns and characteristics across Canada. The study found 750 cases involving a minimum of 1,272 students and 714 offenders, 87% of which were male. Moreover, 86% of all offenders were certified teachers, and offenders employed grooming as the main tactic in 70% of the cases. Of the child/student victims, 75% were female, 55% were sexually abused on school property, and more than two-thirds of all victims were in high school at the time the offense was committed. The study also found that excluding Ontario and B.C., the media was the sole source of information for 50–86% of all cases depending on the province/territory. Finally, almost three-quarters of offenders from the study were charged with at least one criminal offense, and of the cases that proceeded to trial, 70% resulted in findings of guilt.     

论宪法权威的自我保障制度

作为国家根本大法的宪法必须具有最高效力和最高权威,任何与宪法相冲突的立法和公权行为都必然因违宪而无效。维护宪法权威绝不能借助于个人权威,而必须依靠健全的宪法保障制度建设才能达成,此一方面的任何"天衣之缝"都可能导致宪法权威的崩解。对于致力于依宪治国的中国立宪实践而言,建立健全宪法自我保障制度乃是维系宪法权威的唯一路径选择。     

Harmful care. To what extent is terminology from medicine and clinical psychology applicable to out‐of‐home care?

Research concerning outcomes for children who have been placed in out‐of‐home care has indicated that the care may have unwanted consequences. However, there has been no coherent terminology for differentiating between different types of such unwanted consequences. In this article therefore, we attempt to disentangle different aspects of potentially harmful care for looked after children, as well as to discuss potential pathways to more systematically approach and report adverse events for this group. In this endeavour, we turn to two adjacent disciplines, medicine and psychology, where these issues have received more interest. The applicability of the concepts used in these fields is discussed, and it is concluded that although they provide some help in categorizing different aspects of harmful care, the complexity of out‐of‐home care makes existing models difficult to adopt without adjustments. This has consequences for the possibility of evaluating care in research, as well as for monitoring adverse events in practice. Importantly, the causality will often be unknown. We therefore suggest that it is essential to shed more light on how decisions should be made about when to intervene or not in out‐of‐home care, despite limited information.     

“Helping teenagers in care flourish: What parenting research tells us about foster care”

In this article, I review a range of theoretical and practical issues that are relevant to the foster care of teenagers. I argue that topics such as the recent research evidence from neuroscience regarding brain development in adolescence, as well as control, the promotion of autonomy, and resilience, all have major implications for the provision of appropriate care for teenagers. I outline some of the key conclusions reached by researchers on these pertinent topics and then go on to consider the implications from this evidence for the training of foster carers.     

Revisiting the cooperation–competition paradox: A configurational approach to short- and long-term coopetition performance in business networks

Cooperation and competition are often viewed as incompatible, antagonistic forces, thus are operationalized as two extremes on a continuum. However, they can coexist and even enable each other, thus may be operationalized as orthogonal constructs. We address this contradictory phenomenon by developing a more granular view of the cooperation–competition paradox. Building on interdisciplinary research, we develop a three-dimensional model of relational space (fairness–opportunism, sharing–control, and engagement–rivalry), providing a novel tool with which to investigate the paradoxical interplay between cooperation and competition through eight operationalizable configurations. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we test our model by assessing how different configurations of interfirm relationships influence the short- and long-term success of a sample of 217 firms. Our findings show that only two of the eight possible relational configurations are associated with firm success, one in both the long and short term, and the other in the short term only.     

儿童社会情绪学习：Strong Kids系列课程介绍及启示

Strong Kids系列课程是儿童社会情绪学习的经典课程之一，包括5个相对独立的版本，具有扎实的理论基础，是一项方便、经济且见效快的短期预防干预项目，能有效地预防和减少儿童的情绪行为障碍，提升儿童的社会情绪能力。该课程的设计、内容及形式等都值得为他人所借鉴。为此，笔者通过对Strong Kids系列课程的理论基础、主要内容及应用的阐述，探讨该课程的优势及对我国儿童社会情绪学习课程开发与实施的启示。     

幼儿自然色彩教育：价值、目标与对策

大自然是色彩的宝库，是幼儿自然色彩教育的最好课堂。幼儿自然色彩教育的根本目的不是掌握色彩知识或技巧， 而是通过大自然丰富多彩的色彩美激发幼儿对自然美的敏感性、好奇心，培养幼儿的审美素质，萌发幼儿热爱自然的情感，培 养幼儿健全的生命意识。幼儿自然色彩教育应让幼儿面对活的、灵动的自然色彩，在自然情境中唤醒幼儿的色彩敏锐性，激 活幼儿对美的感受力，让幼儿在一花一草的色彩变化中体悟一种生命滋养另一种生命的神奇，感悟生命的真谛，从而学会感 恩自然。     

Child protection social workers' constructions of children and childhood: An integrative review

Social workers' constructions of children and childhood are central to how professionals interact with children and support their needs. The aim of this integrative review was to provide a comprehensive portrayal of child protection social workers' constructions of children and childhood. We analysed and synthesized 35 empirical studies with samples of social workers in the child protection domain where issues regarding the child or the child's situation were the study focus. The findings show that children and youth are constructed as a generalized group viewed in light of their parents. We see a fragmented and context‐free child produced by causal shortcuts strongly informed by specific and, at times, simplified and biased psychological knowledge. Moreover, we identify constructions of the child in need of protection and thereby position children as objects for intervention, separating that from children as subjects in their own rights. Although the participatory child is visible in the data material, the actual practice of involving children seems arbitrary.