Conceptualizing Childbearing Ambivalence: A Social and Dynamic Perspective

Childbearing ambivalence is often conceptualized as a state of conflicting desires about having a child that is characteristic of particular individuals or life stages. This study proposes that childbearing ambivalence is dynamic and situational, resulting from the multiple sociocultural frames surrounding childbearing. Using eight waves of prospective data from a population‐based sample of young adults in Malawi, results show that 41% of women and 48% of men are ambivalent about childbearing at some point in the 2.5‐year study. There is limited evidence that ambivalence is related to individual sociodemographic or psychosocial characteristics aside from gender; rather, ambivalence is tied to life course markers such as school enrollment and age. In addition, life course transitions and changes in relationships, health, and economic factors are associated with the onset of ambivalence, supporting the theory that ambivalence is a dynamic state that men and women frequently pass through as their lives and circumstances change.     

Mainstream is not for all: the educational experiences of autistic young people

Abstract

This article highlights two current issues facing autistic young people in their pursuit of suitable education. First, mainstream education is advocated for all, from a rights-based perspective on inclusion, yet, as 12 autistic young people from Northern Ireland demonstrate, being academically able does not mean they are mainstream able. Second, autistic young people, who are largely missing from the debate on educational improvement, and in particular the inclusion debate, ought to be central to this discussion and have much to add. The social model of disability is considered relevant to autism. For the young people referred to in this article, inclusion is a feeling (a sense of belonging) not a place (mainstream or otherwise).     

文化冲突视野下青年世界观问题研究

当前的中国正处于社会转型的关键时期。在这个特殊的历史时期,社会中充斥着各种文化冲突。这些不同文化之间的相互冲突,对于当前的青年群体正确世界观的确立产生了诸如对科学世界观缺乏认同、不能正确认识个人和社会的关系、有神论思想及思想方法片面等很多消极影响。为此,对青年世界观的教育,应着重采取实践教育、区别对待、具体指导、情感培养、实现知识内化等措施。     

Commentary on 'Managing the process of change in residential child care: A consultancy approach'

This paper draws on a ten month British study completed in April 2001 investigating service responses to women of South Asian background who had attempted suicide or who self-harmed. The scope of the study is briefly outlined and an analysis of perspectives documented in the study is presented, drawing on research interviews with 18 staff from a variety of health and social care disciplines and with seven survivors of attempted suicide/self-harm. The implications of this analysis for improving practice are considered. Attitudes surrounding attempted suicide and self-harm are discussed. The issue of ‘race anxiety’ is also discussed. The factors seen by workers as contributing to South Asian women's attempted suicide are considered, with a particular focus on the difficulties caused in the delivery of services by common-sense accounts of cultural issues. Current approaches to the delivery of services to South Asian women are identified and analysed, showing how their current organisation can lead to circularity in referral systems and consequent non-intentional neglect of the needs of this client group. It is urged that proper consideration be given to the support and professional supervision of staff in this complex area of work.     

Conducting Large‐Scale Surveys in Secondary Schools: The Case of the Youth On Religion (YOR) Project

There are few published articles on conducting large‐scale surveys in secondary schools, and this paper seeks to fill this gap. Drawing on the experiences of the Youth On Religion project, it discusses the politics of gaining access to these schools and the considerations leading to the adoption and administration of an online survey. It is concluded that successful research in schools has to be planned carefully in collaboration with key members of staff, and justified as an educational activity. Providing speedy feedback was helpful to ensure schools benefited from the research and to keep them engaged with the project. © 2011 The Author(s). Children & Society © 2011 National Children’s Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited     

Characteristics and Outcomes of College-Age Adults Enrolled in Private Residential Treatment: Implications for Practice

Substance use among college-age adults is of interest due to high levels of use and low levels of treatment access and engagement relative to other adults. Data collected from 1,972 clients in residential services were analyzed to investigate differences in use patterns, treatment outcomes, and other life area problems. Participants completed an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) at baseline, and an ASI and Treatment Services Review at 1-month and 6-month postdischarge interviews. Almost a quarter (24.1%) of participants were college age (18–25 years old). They were more likely to be White and male, and less likely to complete treatment although they had a longer average length of stay. College-age adults improved on all outcome measures, and posttreatment service use shows significant difference between college-age and older participants. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Supporting unaccompanied asylum‐seeking young people: The experience of foster care

Although research on the experiences of unaccompanied asylum‐seeking young people in the UK has grown steadily in recent years, their experience of fostering and of the role played by foster carers in helping their adjustment have been neglected. This paper reports findings from the first UK study into these experiences, describing issues arising from initial assessment and preparation for fostering and the ways in which young people and foster carers adjusted to their lives together. It assesses the progress made by young people during placement, the strategies that appeared helpful to relationship building, and the extent to which young people had become integrated within the wider network of family relationships. Given that most young people first arrive as teenagers, it also considers the ways in which foster carers and social workers helped young people prepare for adult life in the context of uncertainties arising from the asylum process.     

青年教师实践能力提高路径论略

近年来,随着党中央、国务院科教兴国战略的实施和高等教育大众化的需要,社会急需具有综合实践能力的创造性人才,高等教育必须适应这种社会需求。目前高等院校教师队伍中,青年教师所占的比重越来越大,他们大多从校门到校门,实践动手能力差,难以解答学生提出的工程实际问题,直接影响学校的人才培养质量,因此,加强高等院校青年教师工程实践能力的培养已显得十分迫切。     

略谈新形势下高校青年志愿者服务工作

本文分析当前大学生青年志愿服务工作面临的机遇和挑战,并提出建设高校青年志愿服务工作的应对措施。     

《共产党人》与抗日战争时期党的干部教育

抗战时期党的干部教育是顺应革命形势的发展和干部队伍自身建设的需要而广泛兴起和发展的。《共产党人》是抗战时期中共中央主办的专门研究党的建设理论和实践的党内刊物,刊登了大量党关于干部教育的决定和指示、研究性论文和干部教育通讯,有力地推进了党的干部教育的政策制定、理论解读和实践开展。